Thick, Black Smoke Complicates Royal Oak Firefighting

A dump truck sustained significant damage at a fire at the Royal Oak Department of Public Service facility about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, but could have been much worse.

“It was a very aggressive fire that could have easily taken the building,” Joseph Alberga, a firefighter/paramedic for the Royal Oak Fire Department told Patch. “Any time we can contain it without injuries, that’s a success.”

Thick black smoke had already banked to the floor and the fire was quickly advancing when firefighters arrived at the building, located at 12 Mile and Campbell.

Crews quickly charged multiple attack lines and made entry into the burning facility. Alberga said the smoke made it difficult to see the fire, and four firefighters navigated through it, using thermal imaging equipment to locate the blaze in the bay area where the dump truck was parked.

The fire started outside of the truck, but the cause remains under investigation by the city’s fire marshal and other investigators.

Alberga said more than 500 gallons of water was used to contain the fire. The fire was extinguished in about an hour, but firefighters remained on the scene for about three hours to prevent the blaze from rekindling.

The DPS building appears to be structurally sound, but an engineer is checking the beams.

On the city’s Facebook page, Royal Oak Fire Chief Chuck Thomas credited the work of the firefighters.

“The Royal Oak Fire Department did a great job of containing the fire to a single truck,” Thomas said. “While he sprinkler system did its job, the smoke in the building was banked down from the ceiling to the firefighters’ knees, which made it nearly impossible to see in the building. I want to commend the firefighters and DPS workers on the scene for the fantastic job they all did.”

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