A vacant house near Bel Air was destroyed after a one-alarm fire early Thursday. Firefighters from Abingdon, Bel Air, Joppa-Magnolia and Level volunteer companies responded to the fire in the 800 block of East Wheel Road, near Glenangus Drive, shortly before 2 a.m., according to the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company website. The vacant residence was a one-story, single-family house.
The initial call was for a report of an odor of smoke outside. The fire was controlled within 30 minutes, according to the website. The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause.
A small issue in this fire, too, was that a nearby fire hydrant had been painted an olive green color, according to Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association spokesman Rich Gardiner, making it hard to find.
Harford County has since re-painted the hydrant, according to Gardiner, who also urged citizens to not repaint the hydrants, which are color-coded for the different fire companies.