Fire roars through iconic brass mill

Three fire departments were required to respond to a large fire at the former Ansonia Copper & Brass factory in Waterbury, Connecticut, in late July.

According to online coverage by the Waterbury Republican American, as of Tuesday, July 31, smoke was still drifting from the site, which was ablaze during the previous night.

Firefighters and eyewitnesses described parts of the 110,000-square-foot former brass mill as “engulfed” in flames around 9 p.m. Monday, July 30. The fire was considered under control by Tuesday at 3 a.m., according to the Republican American.

The former mill has roots that trace back to the mid-19^th century, when Waterbury and nearby Ansonia, Connecticut, comprised a major brass production region. Red metal scrap was shipped to melt shops in the region in large quantities from the late 19^th century until the 1970s, when industrial output in the Northeast began to decline.

The Waterbury building “had been largely cleared out in recent years,” according to the newspaper, with machinery from the site sold off. This decade, the United States Environmental Protection agency and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also had been overseeing a cleanup process that cost some $2 million.