Person found dead in apartment after fire above popular Middletown pub

The Delaware fire marshal's office and Middletown police are investigating the death of a person who was found in a burning apartment above a well-known Middletown pub early Friday morning.

According to the fire marshal's office, police responded to Main and Broad streets just before 4 a.m. for reports of the smell of smoke. The officers began searching nearby buildings and found smoke coming from an apartment above Sully's Irish Pub at The Witherspoon.

Firefighters from Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown quickly responded and forced their way into the apartment, where they found the person dead. As of 9 a.m. Friday, police, the fire marshal's office and the state medical examiner's office were still on the scene investigating.

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Assistant State Fire Marshal Michael Chionchio said it's too soon to tell whether the person died in the blaze or beforehand, but that an autopsy is set for Friday.

He added that the fire was mostly contained to the apartments and the pub was largely unaffected. Damage is estimated at about $75,000.

Sully's is Delaware's oldest bar. A small one-room tavern that first opened in 1761 and was visited by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, it was renamed from The Witherspoon to Sully's Irish Pub at The Witherspoon in 2009.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Sully's Irish Pub in Middletown sees fire above bar, person dead