Staff Writer A fire at Ketchum Machine Shop in the village of Freeport that led to the water ban in the village Friday night, has also led to a change in protocol for the Freeport Fire Department.
Freeport Fire Chief Russ Yarger said a valve failure on the firetruck caused raw water from the Little Thornapple River to enter the village water system.
Yarger said it was an extremely unusual situation, one he said the Michigan Department of Environment Quality had never heard of before.
Yarger said new protocol will not allow trucks to pump water from the river and from the village water source at the same time.
He said nearly all 502 residents in the village were made aware of the water issue before 2 a.m. Yarger said bottled water was available at the fire station where Alto Fire Department also donated several cases of bottled water.
Yarger said the entire village water system has been flushed three times, and two samples have already been tested and returned with all negative results, so far.
To be sure firetrucks are in good working order, the department schedules an annual inspection with an outside company.
One firefighter was being angrily confronted by an onlooker When a second firefighter stepped in to help control the situation, the onlooker continued arguing and pushed the firefighter.
In another incident, a 40-year-old Freeport man ran over one of the fire hoses.
Firefighters wanted the incident documented in case there is any damage to the hose.