COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A fire late Tuesday afternoon caused heavy damage to a longtime Coldwater area business.
Branch County 911 Central Dispatch says they began receiving calls from passerby’s around 5:30 p.m. of smoke in the air at A Grand Occasion at 612 North Union City Road, just north of Coldwater.
The Coldwater Fire Department was dispatched with automatic mutual aid from Quincy and Bronson. When the first crews arrived heavy smoke and flames were visible and additional aid was requested from the Lakeland and Union City fire departments.
Fire crews were hampered by the lack of water in the area and spent hours shuttling tankers back and forth from nearly two miles away. The Coldwater Fire Department even used a suction hose in a cistern to draw more water for the pumpers.
The warehouse type building housed event supplies such as tents, chairs, tables and several other items. Grand Occasions has been in business in Coldwater for over 27 years.
It took crews several hours to bring the blaze under control and they were finally able to clear the scene around 11: 30 p.m. after nearly six hours.
Investigators will return to the scene this morning to try and figure out what sparked the blaze, but so far no dollar amount has been placed on the loss.
It was the second major fire at a Coldwater business in less than two weeks, The office and repair facility at Haylett Trailers and Safeguard RV Service and Repair sustained an estimated $3 million in damage from a fire May 8.
In addition to the mutual aid from area fire departments, the Branch County Sheriffs Office, Michigan State Police, and Lifecare Ambulance also assisted at the scene. There were no reported injuries.
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