Discarded coals spark brush fire behind Harmar home
No buildings were damaged in a brush fire that broke out Sunday afternoon behind a home in Harmar.
Capt. Levi Baer with the Allegheny Valley Volunteer Fire Company said the fire in the 700 block of Gulf Lab Road was reported shortly after 12:30 p.m. Firefighters were at the scene for about 90 minutes.
According to Baer, a man with dementia threw out hot coals Saturday night, forgetting there was a large pile of leaves in the area.
The fire burned two trees and an area of about 30 feet in radius. Baer said firefighters had a difficult time getting the fire in one tree out because their lines couldn’t reach it. They pulled a larger line to extinguish it.
The fire was about 20 feet away from the home, Baer said.
Firefighters from Rural Ridge Volunteer Fire Company also responded. No injuries were reported.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.