More Than 100 Golf Carts Set On Fire At Oakland County Golf Course
OAKLAND TWP. (WWJ) - The owners of a golf course in northern Oakland County are talking with investigators after a fleet of golf carts caught on fire in what's believed to be a massive act of vandalism.
The incident unfolded around 3 a.m. Friday at the Myth Golf and Banquet Center on Stoney Creek Road in Oakland Charter Township. Fire crews from seven nearby departments ended up responding to the scene.
"The first arriving units, the golf carts were all fully involved and also, to the back of the lot there's two storage facilities and one of those was burning as well," Oakland Township Fire Chief Paul Strelchuk told WWJ's Chrystal Knight. "That facility contained some hazardous materials, fertilizers, fuel. And they had 55-gallon drums of motor oil for the equipment, we did have one of those explode."
Officials also noticed something out of the ordinary, which led them to believe that this incident might have been deliberate.
"They also took one golf cart and drove out into the middle of the golf course for some reason and lit that one on fire as well," said Strelchuk.
In all, more than 100 golf carts are estimated to have been damaged by fire. Oakland County Sheriff's investigators and HAZMAT teams remain on the scene, cleaning up the fuel, oil and fertilizer that was spilled.
A cause of the fire has yet to be determined. No injuries were reported.
"Right now it's all under investigation," said Strelchuk. "I mean, a golf cart just doesn't go out in the middle of the course and light itself on fire. So at this point, the fire is suspicious and we're investigating it."
Despite the tremendous loss, the golf course remains open for play Friday.
"They're going to be open for business. It didn't do anything to their clubhouse, and I think they have a few golf carts left, but probably there will be a lot more people walking today than driving carts," said Strelchuk.
