There are still a lot of questions about what caused two vacant mills in South Windham and East Killingly to go up in flames early Saturday morning, within hours of one another.
Officials said the causes of both the mill fire on Machine Shop Hill Road in South Windham and the former Acme mill on Bailey Hill Road in East Killingly are still under investigation.
“I worked in the back. I was working on first aid kits for the military. That was back in the early 70s,” said Donald Barber about the former Acme mill.
Barber’s East Killingly yard gave him a clear view of the flames spewing into the air and water being pummeled onto his former workplace early Saturday.
“Mill fires are always hard to find a cause based on the size of the structure and depending on how much is involved on arrival,” said Killingly Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Director Randy Burchard.
It posed a challenge for Burchard and responding firefighters. Killing Town Manager Mary Calorio said it was difficult for him to get into the building because of the structural damage.
“The historic nature of these mills, the character of the mills isn’t something we can ever replicate,” Calorio said.
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She calls it a loss for the town. The mill, which dated back to 1846 according to the town clerk’s office, is leveled.
Hazardous material was a big concern after asbestos was found in roofing material. At the time of the fire, residents were advised to remain indoors. The advisory was lifted later in the day.
DEEP said no toxic chemicals detected in the air. But debris from the fire was found on some surrounding downwind properties. DEEP mapped the debris field and spokesperson Lee Sawyer said as of Sunday, their clean-up was complete.
Killing residents concerned about fire debris on their property were encouraged to call a hotline set up by QVEC 911.
Operations Manager Travis Irons said in the first three to four hours, they received more than a dozen calls from residents about material on their property.
“Our primary concern is security for the site,” Calorio said. “It is a large site, it is a hazardous waste site at this point.”
Because of that, the property owner arranged for a fence to be put up around the mill, she added.
The owner of the former Acme mill is listed as Shennecock Realty LLC according to the Killingly Clerk’s Office. NBC Connecticut called and emailed an agent for the property owner about the fire and did not get a response by the time this story aired.
Calorio said the mill has been vacant, but the current owner was planning on developing residential units and was actively abating the property.
“It’s sad for a number of reasons,” Calorio said. “This is part of our history. We are a region of mill towns really our history is with these mills.”
Another mill, in South Windham, also caught fire Saturday morning and also had asbestos in the roofing material.
More than 80 firefighters from over a dozen departments helped battled the flames.
Sawyer said in this case, the fire debris was mostly contained to the mill site.
DEEP will continue to be involved in ongoing efforts to clean up both sites and will work closely with the owners to make sure they’re taking necessary steps to secure and clean-up the damage, according to Sawyer.
State police said neither of the fires have been determined to be criminal in nature, but major crimes is assisting.
Burchard said seeing two mill fires within hours of one another is unusual.
“New England has a large amount of mills so anything is possible,” Burchard said.
