Members of the public are being advised to use caution while traveling in the area of the old Highland House restaurant this week, as multiple fire departments are coming together for a training exercise.

The Highland Township Fire Department and multiple other area departments will be conducting training exercises at the old restaurant from Thursday through Sunday. Officials advise that there will be multiple fire trucks and fire fighters inside, outside and in the area so they ask that people use caution in the area during those times. Fire departments taking part include Milford, White Lake, Commerce, Walled Lake, Hartland, Springfield and the North Oakland County Fire Authority, which includes Holly and Rose Townships.

The Highland House officially closed operations this week after serving the community for the past 42 years. Demolition work will commence after the training. The restaurants new location is right next door and has been under construction, although no official re-opening date has been determined yet. Various training evolutions will be performed during the upcoming days.

Highland Township fire officials say the department is grateful the owner agreed to provide the building for training before tearing it down, as they very rarely get a commercial property to train in. They add that opening up the training to all of the different departments will prove beneficial in a number of ways but also allow the community to see them actively training to better serve them in the event of an emergency. Photo: Google Street View. (JM)