Trace Radioactive Material Found in Torched Truck

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ROYAL OAK, MI - Trace amounts of radioactive material were found on equipment stored in the bed of a truck burned in a rash of vehicle fires in Royal Oak over the past few weeks, police said Monday.

One of the victims of the suspicious vehicle fires — nine since Jan. 1 — told the Royal Oak Police Department the equipment was used to test soil samples. The truck belonged to her employer, according to a statement from police.

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The OAKWAY HAZMAT team, which serves Oakland and Wayne counties, responded and contained the equipment, then determined residents in the 1000 and 11000 block of Bauman, where the fire occurred, were not at risk.

The latest suspicious vehicle fires were reported at 4:53 a.m. Saturday morning. Both vehicles were engulfed in flames when police and firefighters arrived. A fire in a vehicle parked in the driveway had spread to a detached garage, causing moderate damage.

Both fires were quickly extinguished.

Royal Oak police said nine of the 41 car fires reported in the city since Jan. 1 are believed to be the work of an arsonist and are under investigation by the Royal Oak Police Criminal Investigation Division, the Royal Oak fire marshal and arson investigators from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Between Nov. 23-26, three vehicles were torched, according to police. The most recent fires have all occurred in the area of 14 Mile and Rochester roads, where Bauman is located.

The Royal Oak Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Royal Oak Fire Marshal and the Oakland County Arson Investigation team are investigating. 

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Royal Oak Police Department at (248) 246-3500.