A month after the devastating fire that burned down the Oakland Hills Country Club, new evidence shows the fire appears to have started from construction workers using a propane torch against a wall.
The construction workers were on the east side of the building trying to rebuild a patio, said Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John LeRoy in a news conference this week.
They were using the torch to install rubberized flashing, and the heat from the flame helps dry it in the cold weather, he said.
After using the torch, the workers appeared to see smoke coming out of the wall and used a hose. Then, the video cuts to flames bursting out of the wall after firefighters axed it. He said the fire was able to live and spread between the walls.
“It looks to me that they were like, ‘Uh oh, we got a problem here,’ and were trying to figure out what to do, that’s where the hose comes in,” said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
As of now, Bouchard said it appears there was no intent to start the fire. But the footage is incomplete, and officials are continuing the investigation. Bouchard said it could take a full year to finish it.
“Some things look conclusive, but may not be,” he said.
It is unclear how long the fire went before someone called 911, LeRoy said, and the 911 call came from the pastry kitchen in the basement.
The surveillance footage was recovered from a hard drive submerged in water during the fire, and investigators are working to figure out the timestamps to “piece it all together,” LeRoy said.
The historic country club burned to the ground on Feb. 17, taking with it a century of golf history and mementos that can never be replaced. It took firefighters all day to battle the blaze.
Bouchard said the fire caused an $80 million loss to the country club.
Officials continued to sort through the embers of the devastating Bloomfield Township fire for the past month, using evidence from the scene and different witness statements.
Statements obtained by the Free Press recall a smell of smoke and the blinking strobe lights of the fire alarm, followed by a hurried evacuation and the growth of flames. However, two employees also mentioned a failing heat pump in their statements to law enforcement.
In their statements, employees say the structure was undergoing repairs in parts of the building and because of that, it had contractors on-site the day of the fire. Responding firefighters dragged away propane tanks, a heater and a torch from the building, which were confiscated for evidence, according to police reports also obtained by the Free Press.
The Oakland Hills Country Club board voted to build a replica of the 99-year-old iconic building that was decimated by the fire and predicted it would take a few seasons to complete.
Staff writer Miriam Marini contributed to this report.
Contact Emma Stein: estein@freepress.com and follow her on Twitter @_emmastein.
