Village manager says water was ample to fight downtown fire.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

PENTWATER — The village’s water supply was not in danger of running out of water during a commercial building fire downtown Monday evening, according to Village Manager Rob Allard.

During the fire, Pentwater Fire Department Assistant Chief Paul Smith said he was concerned that the water tower was reaching low levels and decided to utilize water from Pentwater Lake as well. This morning, Allard said the village has plenty of water and there was never a reason for alarm during the fire that destroyed the Dockside Restaurant and Pizza, 401 S. Hancock Street. See related story.

“The term ‘a few feet’ in the tower is referring to operational feet not literally what’s left standing in the tower pedestal,” Allard said. “Our assessment last night was that at their current draw rate, we would be comfortable with about two hours of additional pumpage, equating to about two operational feet in the tower. That was enough to give the fire department ample volume and pressure without jeopardizing the village system.

“As a precaution, water was drafted from the lake, with what I believe were two trucks. The decision to pump from the lake was made by the fire department. The fire department is well trained and knows how to best utilize and conserve potable water.”