Firefighters from Annan, Dumfries and Lockerbie tackled the blaze at the Dalton Pottery site on Thursday, but were left struggling to get water from the village’s only hydrant.
One of those involved, who does not wish to be identified, commented that the low pressure meant it was almost unusable and a nearby burn was also too low to successfully pump water.
It is understood that the fire engines implemented a relay system to try to get water from nearby farm land as well as the hydrant.
A source said: “A problem with the hydrant in Dalton village combined with high winds certainly caused the fire to spread at an increased rate.
“If it was the height of summer more engines would be brought in purely to ferry water from the next nearest working hydrant.”
He explained that the lack of a suitable hydrant would unlikely cause a fatality as each appliance carries enough water to carry out an immediate life rescue.
As well as battling the burning building, firefighters had to set up an exclusion zone and move away from the property due to the presence of dangerous chemicals.
The source said: “The fire was also challenging as there was acetylene cylinders involved which requires firefighters to be evacuated and fight the fire from a safe distance.”
