Home»MARYLAND FIRE DEPT. INCIDENTS»HARFORD Co. Fire Dept.»2-Alarms 3401 Old Level Rd. 9-20-14

On Saturday September 20, 2014 Harford County Dispatch received a call around 11:30AM from a homeowner reporting a lawn mower was on fire behind his home on a farm in the 3400 block of Old Level Road near Churchville. Dispatch gave responding companies additional information that a large garage was involved and upgraded the assignment to a structure fire, bringing additional units from Aberdeen, Havre de Grace, and Darlington. As Chief 1 from Level VFD was responding he saw a large column of black smoke from the area and requested an additional tanker. The first arriving units, Engine 113 and Tanker 121, found a 30’ X 100’ 10 car garage fully involved and crews began an offensive attack on the fire. Access to the structure was limited due to it being set back well off of the main road. As they began their attack there was a partial collapse of the building and a second alarm was requested bringing additional units from Bel Air, Abingdon, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, and Rising Sun.
A drafting site and water supply was set up by Water Supply 181 from a nearby pond on Glenville Road, located about a mile down the road from the fire.
Around 45 firefighters were able to knock down the fire within 30 minutes with 5 hand lines in service. They remained on the scene for the next few hours extinguishing hot spots and mopping up.
The Maryland State Fire Marshal was requested and arrived on the scene around 12:15. His preliminary investigation disclosed that the fire occurred when the lawnmower was being refueled and the vapors ignited when they made contact with the hot engine. In addition to the lawnmower, a Ford pickup truck and other equipment in the building was destroyed. The loss of the structure and its contents was estimated at $500,000.
Harford County Haz Mat crews were also called to the scene to assist.
One firefighter suffered from dehydration and was transported from the scene to a local hospital.