Firefighters prevent further damage in industrial park fire

Plainwell officials believe the quick actions of the city’s firefighters and assisting departments were able to limit the damage caused by a fire at HyTech Spring.

Firefighters were called to the facility on Sunday, April 15, Public Safety Director Bill Bomar said, about 11:50 a.m. and were on the scene for about three hours.

“The damage was concentrated at the west wall in the west building,” he said.

The fire appeared to have started in HVAC system, Bomar said, and the fire investigator had said the cause was likely electrical.

He told Plainwell city council members the Michigan State Police fire investigator had passed along praise for the firefighters who’d fought the blaze, which included Plainwell’s department with an assist from the Gun Plain Township and Otsego departments.

“The investigator stated he’d like to commend our firefighters who really got it knocked down quick and probably saved a lot of valuable property,” Bomar said.

The firefighters, he said, discovered hot spots in the building’s ceiling, which would likely have spread the fire if not extinguished.

“Something like that, the extension of the fire into other areas, that could cause a lot of damage,” Bomar said.

Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.