An abandoned home off of Abingdon's Route 924 caught fire Thursday afternoon, after fuel oil was accidentally ignited by scavengers who had illegally trespassed on the property with the intent of stealing and scrapping the oil tanks, investigators said.
The fire triggered an extensive response by area fire companies, as well as a Hazmat response, and tied up traffic on the busy highway most of the afternoon and into the evening homeward rush.
Route 924 was closed between Abingdon Road and the Tollgate/Route 24 intersection after the fire was called in at 1:49 p.m., Rich Gardiner, spokesperson for the Harford County Volunteer Fire & EMS Association, said in a post on the Facebook's media Facebook page.
The road was reopened to southbound traffic as of about 4:30 p.m., Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company reported.
The home, in the 3000 block of Route 924 next to the Giant supermarket, was vacant but the fire was "well-involved, resulting in multiple hose lines, apparatus and manpower," according to the association.
Hazmat was also involved because of a leaking tank of heating fuel, according to Gardiner.
No injuries were reported. The fire was placed under control by 1:49 p.m., Gardiner.
Firefighters from Aberdeen, Abingdon, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Bel Air and Joppa-Magnolia fire companies responded, according to the Fire & EMS Association. Also responding was a Harford County Hazmat team and the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The house, vacant for some 20 years, had been targeted before by trespassing scavengers looking for scrap metal, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said Friday.
"Just every piece of metal from the home was gone, including the metal roof which they took last summer," Alkire said. "They were using a grinder on the tanks, and the sparks ignited some oil that was on the ground and brush and with the wind conditions we had, it spread to the house."
The trespassers fled the scene once the fire took off, he said.
Alkire said a passing Maryland State Police trooper saw the fire and gave a detailed description of the location, which is well back from the road toward the rear of the Giant supermarket.
"Obviously the theft from the property is illegal, but we don't think there was any intent to be malicious and deliberately set the fire," he said.
Despite the condition of the dwelling and the nature of the fire, Alkire said a complete, all-out response was necessary because there was no way of knowing if somebody might be inside.
"It certainly makes for a dangerous situation," he said.
Damage to the dwelling is estimated at $5,000.