Oxford firefighters made a good save Sunday evening when they prevented a garage fire from spreading to a house in the Woodbriar Village subdivision.
It happened on Poppy Hill Dr., south of W. Drahner Rd.
Firefighters were called to the scene after homeowners discovered smoke and flames inside their two-car, attached garage.
According to Fire Chief Pete Scholz, “heavy smoke” was pouring from the structure. “You could see it from about a mile or two away,” he said.
After they arrived, Scholz said his personnel “hit it hard” by attacking the fire from two points. “It was knocked down in roughly 10 minutes and (was) completely out probably within another 15 minutes,” he said.
Scholz noted the fire “didn’t get into the house at all.”
“The guys did a great job,” he said.
Had firefighters not arrived when they did, Scholz estimated the flames would have spread to the house “within probably 5 minutes.”
“It was just starting to breach the drywall,” he said. “The drywall held it in (the garage) and it was just starting to breach that.”
Homeowner Vince DeMarco was grateful to firefighters. “They did their job. Thank you. Well done,” he said.
Two vehicles were parked inside the garage, a BMW and a Jeep. Both sustained damage.
“The BMW was pretty much totally consumed,” Scholz said.
It appears the fire started inside the BMW. Scholz said “the majority” of the flames were “in the car and directly above it.”
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, a preliminary investigation found the BMW had not been driven since May 14 and had no mechanical problems.
The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time and the incident remains under investigation.
Scholz noted Orion firefighters assisted at the scene, while fire personnel from Brandon and Addison covered Oxford’s main station.