May 28--EAST HAMPTON -- A smoking skeleton is all that remains of the iconic Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Co. factory after a devastating fire ripped through the building late Saturday night.
The fire prompted evacuations and warnings about hazardous materials, but by late Sunday morning residents who left their homes during the fire were allowed to return. Air testing by state and federal environmental officials determined there were no lingering air quality concerns.
The town's Memorial Day parade will go on as scheduled, officials said.
Bevin Brothers, one of the oldest continuously operated factories in Connecticut, was the last remnant of a once-thriving industry that earned East Hampton the nickname "Bell Town, USA." Known to manufacture more than 700,000 sleigh bells annually, the company's products have been featured in "It's A Wonderful Life" and its cowbells have been clanked at football games and ski races.
Bevin Brothers was the last company exclusively manufacturing bells in the United States.
"This is a tremendous loss for us, as well as the country," Susan Weintraub, the chairwoman of East Hampton's town council, said Sunday afternoon. "This is a tremendous loss for our community now and in the future."
More than 30 fire departments, including companies from East Hampton, Middletown, Wethersfield and Cromwell, were called to the fire at 10 Bevin Road about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, East Hampton Fire Chief Paul Owen said. More than 300 firefighters aided in the firefighting efforts.
About one-third of the building was consumed by fire when the first firefighters arrived, Owen said.
Firefighters were concerned about propane tanks inside and outside the factory and people who lived closest to the factory were evacuated from their homes beginning about 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Power was also cut to the areas. A shelter was set up at East Hampton High School and staffed by the American Red Cross.
Owen said Sunday afternoon that none of the propane tanks appeared to explode, although loud explosions could be heard during the fire. Investigators are working to determine the fire's cause as well as what caused the explosions.
Paul Shipman, spokesman for the Red Cross, said 25 people went to the shelter overnight. People were able to return to their homes about 11 a.m., Weintraub said.
A hazardous materials team from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was on scene for several hours taking air samples. Four remote monitors were installed in the area about 1 p.m., said Cyndy Chanaca, a DEEP spokeswoman.
"We are not seeing anything of concern," Chanaca said Sunday. "There is not a significant amount of hazardous material in the building to warrant a safety threat."
Factory owner Matt Bevin was in Kentucky at the time of the fire, but flew back to assist officials by providing information about what was in the building.
If it is possible to rebuild the factory, Bevin said he will work to do so.
"It's easy to say 'we'll do this,' and 'we'll do that and we'll be back,' but there's a reason there's only one bell maker left," Bevin said. "It's hard to make bells in America."
Bevin said he is concerned primarily with doing right by his employees, whom he called the lifeblood of the factory. "No one is getting rich making bells or working at a bell factory, but everybody was in it together," he said. "Good people."
There were 19 employees in the bell factory and seven more at P.S.I. Plus, a company that since 1991 has manufactured tubular compressed gas cylinders at the Bevin complex.
"I don't know if it's remotely cost effective to even conceive of the idea of being back, but if it's possible to make bells in bell town, we're going to keep making bells in bell town," Bevin said.
"Bevins have been making bells here for 180 years and I'm a Bevin and Bevins don't quit," he said.
The fire is going to be painful for those now out of work, and others in and near East Hampton, he said.
Bevin Brothers Manufacturing has been in business since 1832. The current factory was built about 1880, according to the East Hampton land records.
According to the company website, William Bevin learned the art of bell making while an indentured servant in Cairo, N.Y. There he worked for bell maker William Barton. Barton was the first bell manufacturer in East Hampton, opening a factory in 1808.
William Bevin and brothers Chauncey and Abner established the family business in 1832. A fourth brother, Philo, later joined the business.
More than 30 companies made bells at one time in East Hampton, according to the company website, but only Bevin Brothers remains. Two other bell companies, Gong Bell Manufacturing and East Hampton Bell, were also owned by the Bevin brothers.
The company said it produced the first bell used on a bicycle, the chiming bells used on Good Humor ice cream trucks and bells used by Salvation Army bell ringers. Sleigh bells were a huge part of the company's business which got a boost when it was mandated that otherwise silent sleighs be equipped with bells, according to the company website.
Courant reporter David Owens and FOX CT reporter Jeevan Vittal contributed to this story.
Copyright 2012 - The Hartford Courant, Conn.
