By Chris Hagen
Review Staff Writer
Firefighters had another busy week of flames and sub-zero temperatures as fire destroyed a garage and damaged Milosch’s Palace Chrysler dealership.
In the early, morning of Feb. 28, Fire Station #2 was dispatched to a fire alarm at Milosch’s for a fire alarm.
While units were responding, Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies reported they could see smoke inside the building.
Based on the information, Fire Chief Robert Smith ordered a full-alarm which activated all four Orion Township fire stations to respond. Arriving crews had smoke coming from the rear vents of the building and could see the fire strobes activated inside the building.
‘We arrived and had suppression systems activated,? Smith said. ‘The service shop was completely full of smoke and the showroom area and medium density smoke.?
With temperatures at minus six degrees, firefighters entered the building and located the fire in a work station. The fire originated at the work station and spread to a vehicle on a service hoist.
‘Without the fire suppression system this fire could have been much worse given the time of day,? said Smith. ‘With no one able to see it immediately. It could’ve gotten deep-seated before we would have gotten notified.?
Owners of the dealership are still assessing damage to vehicle both directly and indirectly damaged by the fire. It’s unknown how many vehicles the fire damaged, but given the amount of smoke, insurance adjusters will need to assess the damage to vehicles in the service area as well as new vehicles in the show room.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Department investigators and private insurance agencies are investigating the cause of the fire.
On Feb. 24, Orion firefighters were called to the 200 block of New York Ave for a detached garage fully engulfed in flames.
Fire crews reported smoke and fire showing from every side of the structure upon arrival.
Chief Smith was the first on scene and reported the garage was about 20 feet from the house.
‘When I checked the conditions, I noticed the vinyl siding on the house was beginning to bubble and curl up due to the heat,? Smith said.
Firefighters immediately began dousing the flames and began spraying the house as well to keep it from igniting.
Water supply became another issue as that neighborhood, which connects to Clarkston Road, doesn’t have hydrants throughout the neighborhood.
Inside the garage was a vehicle that had gasoline in the tank; as the fire grew inside fuel began to spill inside the garage.
‘Because of the fuel we had use firefighting foam agents to blanket the fuel coming out and feeding the fire,? said Smith.
Smith estimated damage to the garage and contents to be about $125,000.