Arson at Spring Grove Caused $1,500 in Damage: Fire Marshal

CATONSVILLE, MD — A brush fire at Spring Grove that spread to a stone building has led to arson charges against a Catonsville man, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Steven Paul Golob, 36, of the 1000 block of Raynor Avenue, is charged with first and second-degree arson, first-degree malicious burning, reckless endangerment and malicious destruction of property.

At 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 29, Golob allegedly set fire to dried vegetation outside "Cottage G," a building on the hospital campus where there were people inside at the time, according to the fire marshal.

The blaze spread to an air conditioning unit and scorched the exterior of Cottage G, causing an estimated $1,500 in damage, the fire marshal reported.

State records indicate that "Cottage G" was built before World War II to house 100 chronically disturbed women, and the stone structure was designed to be fireproof due to the violent tendencies of its occupants.

In recent years, Patch reported that IT staff members have worked in Cottage G at Spring Grove, a campus on more than 200 acres that contains the second oldest continually running psychiatric hospital in the U.S.

Spring Grove has more than 300 beds and is operated by the Maryland Department of Hygiene and Mental Health. It also has its own police force, which assisted in the arson investigation.

According to the fire marshal, Spring Grove police located and detained Golob for questioning in connection with Monday's fire.

Firefighters put out the blaze within minutes, and Golob was taken to St. Agnes Hospital for an evaluation, where he was read his Miranda rights and confessed to setting the fire, according to officials.

Golob was being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on $250,000 bond, the fire marshal said Tuesday.

Map from Maryland Department of Hygiene and Mental Health. Picture of Cottage G from Maryland Historical Trust. Stock Photo Credit: Shutterstock.