Two minors, aged 13 and 14, allegedly were playing with fire, set some cardboard ablaze, and burned down an abandoned trailer at 8705 Belleville Road.
Large billows of black smoke drew attention to the emergency for miles around just after noon on Wednesday, June 14.
Van Buren Township Fire Chief Amy Brow said police took the two minors into custody.
Fire fighters were called to the old Central Outlet Sales trailer, referred to as an old garage next to a mobile home park.
Chief Brow said fire fighters couldn’t open the hydrant in front of the fire site and had to stretch lines south past Armstrong Funland all the way to Tyler Road.
At one point, Belleville Road had to be briefly closed for the safety of the fire fighters, she said.
Chief Brow said the black smoke was made up of unburnt soot and the particulates are toxic. Motorists reported the rubble smoked for days.
VBT Police Lt. Charles Bazzy said the two juveniles were interviewed and then requests for juvenile court warrants were submitted to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for four felony charges: conspiracy to commit arson, preparation to burn, arson, and breaking and entering with intent to commit arson. Lt. Bazzy said they were arraigned Friday and currently are in the juvenile court system.
Rollover accident
In an unrelated incident, Chief Brow said around noon on Sunday, there was a rollover accident at I-275 and Ecorse Road. Nobody was injured, she said.