Several fires strike county Monday
BUTLER TWP — A few piles of burning leaves got out of control and ended up damaging two garages Monday afternoon.
It was one of a multitude of grass and brush fires reported across the region on a wind-swept, sunny spring day. The blazes kept fire companies busy but caused little damage.
The Butler Township fire was called in around noon at 231 S. Eberhart Road, according to records kept by county 911 dispatchers. The fire took place in the yard between 231 and 235 S. Eberhart Road.
The owner of the property at 235 S. Eberhart, who also owns one of the two damaged garages, was burning three piles of raked leaves earlier, according to Arvin Bell, a neighbor.
Bell said he went inside during lunchtime and returned to find some smoke and damage.
“I came back out, and I saw the yellow building's siding was melted,” he said.
The yellow garage, which sits farther back into the yard, is owned by Brenda Pfeffer, a neighbor, who said she was out of town when the fire occurred.
“Somebody called me and told me my garage was on fire,” Pfeffer said.
Dave Bestwick, chief of Butler Township Fire Station 3, said his 13 firefighters arrived at 12:15 p.m.
“We had one garage on fire and spreading toward a second garage,” Bestwick said.
Bestwick said he called for backup due to concerns about the wind. He said he canceled the backup request after his firefighters and VA Butler Fire Department gained control of the blaze.
Bestwick said it took firefighters about 20 minutes to put the fire out.
The Butler Township fire marshal and police were on the scene to investigate.
Later Monday afternoon, firefighters quickly doused a brush fire in Clearfield Township. More than a dozen firefighters from four departments responded to
1085 Herman Road, just past the Summit Township border, shortly after 3 p.m. where flames erupted in a small wooded area behind the Smith Grove Campground and jumped across Verndale Drive and a driveway.Firefighters had the blaze extinguished by 4 p.m.Someone burning leaves might have ignited the fire, said Lt. Mike Kamerer of the Herman Volunteer Fire Department.“Once we got on scene, we started working the perimeter and worked back,” Kamerer said.The East Butler, Chicora and Lick Hill volunteer fire departments also responded. No injuries were reported.By 6 p.m. Monday, eight calls for brush and grass fires were reported in Butler County. The Chicora Volunteer Fire Department responded to three of them.“Luckily none of them were too severe,” said Jason Miller, Chicora assistant chief.The fires averaged about an acre in area, Miller said, adding the dry conditions contributed to the number of Monday's calls.“It was the dry weather, the wind and people burning debris today,” he said.Firefighters urged rural residents to exercise caution when burning — or better yet, don't burn at all.“If you are going to burn, don't leave it unattended,” Miller said.<em>Eagle staff writer Steve Ferris contributed to this report.</em>
