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Baldwin residents left with damage, expenses after brush fires

BALDWIN BOROUGH, Pa. — Charred grass and scorched bushes mark the properties damaged after a vehicle’s diesel engine apparently caused multiple brush fires across Baldwin Borough.

On Tuesday, police initially suspected that an arsonist had caused the fires, which sent first responders to six locations within minutes around lunchtime. 

“I thought... I’m gonna burn in here,” said Rose Marie Price, among those whose yards went up in flames.

Price relies on a walker and was worried about how quickly she’d be able to exit her home had the flames spread. Thankfully, crews were able to get the fire under control before that happened.

When she initially heard that the fires may have been intentionally set, she was “afraid to go to sleep.”

But, a day later, police revealed that through further investigation, with the help of a fire inspector, it was determined that the flames were caused by a passing vehicle.

“Modern diesel engines use a DPF system that will occasionally regenerate, creating extreme heat in the exhaust system.  Under the right atmospheric conditions, dry vegetation along roadways may ignite,” police wrote in a public post to residents.

Price, who told Channel 11 that generations of her family have worked in the trucking industry, never heard of such a thing.

“I think [the vehicle] was not maintained,” she said. “Pennsylvania has diesel fuel trucks everywhere.”

Now, her yard looks like a “moonscape or a bad Halloween night decoration.”

Her next-door neighbor, Pat Einloth, also has a charred lawn.

“I think they should find the person responsible and have their insurance company pay for this,” Einloth said.

When Channel 11 spoke to her, she was awaiting an estimate. Price was too, but suspects to pay at least a $500 insurance deductible.

“I don’t think we should be responsible for it,” Einloth said. “Thank God no one got hurt, but still, this is gonna cost lots of money that some people don’t have.”

Channel 11 contacted Baldwin Borough Police to see if the driver has been identified and if he or she may be facing any sort of citation. At the time this article was published, we had not heard back.

The public post to the community had thanked residents for providing surveillance video which assisted in the investigation.

Einloth said she has now purchased surveillance cameras in light of what happened.

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