COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A rescue operation escalated into a fire emergency near an industrial park in Comstock Township, prompting a boil water advisory for the area.
It happened near here:
The City of Kalamazoo released the following map to show where people need to boil their water:
Comstock Township's fire chief described a chain of events he termed the "domino effect" when firefighters responded to a call at Midlink, just off Interstate 94.
“We don’t see calls like this often,” Fire Chief Matt Beauchamp said.
The initial call was related to a worker needing assistance in a vault where he was capping off piping connected to a water tower.
"There was a worker that was down below in the vault capping off some of the piping going to the water tower. There was an attendant outside of the area outside of the manhole that was watching conditions," Beauchamp said.
The situation quickly turned critical when the water began leaking into the vault. Despite having gates and clapper valves in place, multiple failures occurred, leading to the worker being pinned against a valve by water flowing from a 12-inch main at a pressure of 80 pounds per square inch.
The attendant, recognizing the urgency of the situation, called 911 and entered the vault.
“Although it may not be the best practice that the attendant went in and rescued the person, before other help arrived, the worker in the vault may not be alive if it weren’t for that occurring," Beauchamp said.
The worker sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
However, the water rescue triggered another emergency. A building nearby houses a fire pump for the entire complex, and it was believed that the pump activated without an adequate water supply.
“It was believed that the pump turned on, without any water going to it. The water cools the pump. The pump actually ended up catching on fire, so there was a fire in the building.” Chief Beauchamp said.
Thanks to the swift response of the Comstock Township Fire Department and neighboring fire units, the fire was quickly controlled.
“We were in the right place, and we had plenty of water on site,” Chief Beauchamp said.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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