Morning Fire at Cottage Inn Pizza Under Investigation

Fire caused considerable smoke and heat damage but no one was harmed, according to Fire Chief Chuck Thomas.

Drivers headed down Woodward Avenue this morning noticed a frantic employee in front of Cottage Inn Pizza as a fire caused smoke and heat damage to the building located at 32980 Woodward Ave. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, said Fire Chief Chuck Thomas. "We received a phone call at approximately 8:30 a.m. from a worker," said Thomas. The employee was able to escape and was unharmed. Firefighters were able to enter the building through the front door. "There was a lot of smoke, but they were able to make their way to the back," Thomas said. "The firefighters did a great job." The Detroit Free Press is reporting burned soup apparently caused the blaze. "I heard something like that," said Thomas, "but I still have not …

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One Hurt When Fire Breaks Out at Royal Oak Apartment

Only one unit damaged at apartment building at 13 Mile and Crooks roads

Fire at DTE Substation 'Quite an Event'

An investigation continues into what caused the July 17 blaze that left 10,000 utility customers in Royal Oak and Berkley without power.

More than a week after an equipment problem in a Royal Oak substation resulted in a fire and multi-city power outage, DTE workers still are on site investigating and customers continue to experience intermittent outages. "From time to time, when workers are trying to fix equipment, it will be necessary to bring down power on a given current in order to make the environment safe to complete the repair," DTE spokesman Alejandro Bodipo-Memba said Thursday. The utility has taken temporary measures to keep customers online since the July 17 fire that caused 10,000 outages in Royal Oak and Berkley. Three generators and four portable transformers are dotted around the cities and a large portable substation is located on Webster Road in front of …

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Tractor Trailer Fire Shuts Down Westbound I-696 near Woodward

No one was hurt in the late morning incident on Thursday and the cause of the fire is unknown, the Royal Oak Fire Department reports.

A tractor trailer caught fire while traveling west on I-696 around 10:45 a.m. Thursday, shutting down the freeway between the Campbell/Hilton exit and Woodward. Sgt. Brian Gothard of the Royal Oak Fire Department said no one was injured in the incident. The cause was unknown as of mid-day. "It just caught fire as it was driving down the road," Gothard said. The tractor itself was a total loss, he said. Police and fire departments were on the scene and waiting for a crew to handle a HAZMAT situation, as the truck was leaking diesel fuel. "We've got that contained we're just waiting for a clean-up crew to come and take care of it," Gothard said Thursday afternoon. Traffic on westbound I-696 was backed up beyond Dequindre and officials were …

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Royal Oak Firefighters Called to Assist a Massive Fire in Ferndale

Flames burst through the roof of Van Industries on Thursday morning, sending up plumes of smoke seen for miles. No injuries reported.

Royal Oak firefighters were called in to assist a massive fire at Van Industries in Ferndale Thursday, which sent smoke billowing from the area that could be seen for many miles away. No injuries were reported. The company at 1285 Wordsworth – about half a mile north of Eight Mile Road near the railroad tracks east of Hilton – manufactures sanding, buffing and polishing products.  Flames burst through the roof of the commercial building before 11 a.m. Thursday. The Royal Oak Fire Department sent a ladder truck, engine truck, ambulance and seven firefighters. Assistant Chief, Kevin Pierzynski was also on the scene. "We were there for about two hours until the fire was under control," said Capt. Tom Kelly, of the Royal Oak Fire Department. …

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DTE Moves to Improve Wire-Down Communication System After Royal Oak House Fire

After taking almost 1 1/2 hours to arrive to cut down power lines that fell on a Royal Oak house last summer, DTE has initiated a project it hopes will improve communication and response time in wire-down incidents.

A DTE initiative to improve communication in wire-down situations is expected to lead to changes in the system this summer, according to a Royal Oak official who pursued the issue after a Royal Oak home was destroyed by fire last summer. Mayor Pro Tem Patricia Capello told Royal Oak city commissioners Monday that  DTE has initiated a project to develop a unique outage type for active house fire calls in the company's communication system. Last August, a Royal Oak couple returned from a trip up north to find their home badly damaged by fire after live power lines fell on their house. Royal Oak firefighters were called to the scene on Woodslee, the first block south of 13 Mile Road, at 3:15 p.m. Aug. 28 when neighbors noticed the two downed …

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Ronald Wolf

9:25 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012

That this will help other communities as well is a feather in Royal Oak's Cap. However, like Cal I am dubious that DTE will give priority to saving homes in Royal Oak while Detroit plans to save money by letting vacant homes burn, What happenned to the immigrant family that was uninsured? That is what I would like to know. It seems to me someone is responsible for their loss.   more ›

Cause of Barn Fire on Rochester Road Still Under Investigation

Oakland County Sheriff's arson K-9 unit assists Royal Oak Fire Department determine cause of early morning blaze that destroyed the garage.

The Royal Oak Fire Department continues to investigate the cause of a middle of the night blaze that destroyed a barn on Rochester Road this week. When firefighters arrived to the 4000 block of Rochester Road about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday, "it was a spectacular fire," Royal Oak Fire Marshal Tom Nikkila said. Officials are interviewing witnesses and others in the incident in which no one was hurt. According to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, the Royal Oak Fire Department requested a county fire investigator assist in processing the scene. Upon arrival, Fire Investigator H. Schultz requested the Oakland County Sheriff's arson K-9 assist. "A couple of neighbors told us they heard a car door slam and within a few minutes our barn was on fire…

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Royal Oak Firefighters Contain House Fire

Lit cigarette appears to be cause of fire on Tuesday.

The Royal Oak Fire Department responded to a call from the 600 block of Chambers Tuesday evening. The call came in at approximately 8:10 p.m. when the neighbor directly across the street noticed smoke coming from the rear of the house. “The fire appears to have been caused from a lit cigarette that was in a can on the deck located at the rear of the house,” said Lieutenant David Worley of Fire Station 1. The fire spread to a few pieces of the siding, but firefighters were able to contain the fire with little damage to the home.  "Everyone got out safely and none of the tenants were injured,” Worley said. The homeowner was not available for comment.    Fourteen fire personnel from all three Royal Oak Fire Stations responded to the call.  …

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Royal Oak Home Badly Damaged in Fire

Delay in cutting off power lines on house's roof hamper the fire department's efforts to contain the Sunday blaze.

A Royal Oak couple returned from a trip up north to find their home badly damaged by fire after live power lines fell on their house Sunday. The good news? The family cat survived. Royal Oak firefighters were called to the scene of a house fire on Woodslee the first block south of 13 Mile Road at 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Fire Chief Chuck Thomas said. Firefighters were unable to save the house, but they did save the family pet. Neighbors called 911 when they noticed two downed power lines on the home of Sergey Smetanin who was in northern Michigan when the fire broke out.  “The fire could have been going on a long time,” Thomas said. “We don’t know when it started because the homeowner was out of town.” Thomas noted just last weekend, during the …

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