Crews Respond to Bel Air Vehicle Blaze; Malicious Fire at Aberdeen Middle School

Emergency crews responded to a vehicle blaze at a Bel Air residence Saturday which caused approximately $50,000 in damage to a garage and two classic cars, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

The fire was reported just before 11 a.m. by the owner of a home on the 2100 block of Fairlane Road in Bel Air, who was “adjusting valves” on a historic 1948 Ford when the fuel line leaked, causing a flash fire. The man attempted to put out the fire with a portable extinguisher before alerting emergency crews.

Twenty-five firefighters from the Bel Air and Darlington fire companies brought the blaze under control in about 10 minutes. The fire extensively damaged a garage at the residence, the Ford, and a 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible. Damage to the structure is estimated at $20,000 and damage to its contents is estimated at $30,000.

A day earlier, a 12-year-old male juvenile at Aberdeen Middle School was charged with second-degree malicious burning, malicious destruction of property, and reckless endangerment after he allegedly ignited fires in a student bathroom on two different occasions, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

The juvenile allegedly lit ordinary combustible materials on fire, and extinguished the blaze before the school’s fire alert system activated. The youth was charged and released to the custody of his parents.