Town Pitching in to Help Bell Factory's Owner

It began with a late-night visit from the police, and, after being assured by his teenage son that the visit had nothing to do with him, Jeff Jylkka first heard the news of the fire.

East Hampton’s finance director and acting town manager headed to the site of the Bevin Bros. Manufacturing Company, where a weekend fire destroyed the country’s last bell manufacturer and a town landmark.

Jylkka was briefed on the situation and after taking in a “lay of the land,” headed to the high school, which was being used as a shelter for residents who had been evacuated from homes near the fire.

There, the focus turned to food and getting as much of it as possible to firefighters.

“My next task was, what do we have and what can we make,” Jylkka said.

So, he, Public Works Director Keith Hayden and Shelly Cibula made egg sandwiches.

“We made as many as we had, but we knew it wasn’t enough,” he said.

Jylkka then went to Dunkin Donuts and McDonald’s, and despite both being closed, was able to get 10 dozen donuts and 100 Egg McMuffins.

Since then, his efforts have changed some.

“Right from the beginning we’ve had contact with Matt [Bevin] and we’ve offered support in the sense of a resource,” Jylkka said Wednesday.

Such as helping the owner with his need for a building to serve as a warehouse.

“We knew of some places,” Jylkka said. “We did some research, got him some owner’s names, got him some information on buildings and passed it on to him.”

The town has also tried to facilitate meetings for Bevin with groups such as the Department of Economic Community Development [DECD] and Department of Labor.

On Wednesday, Bevin met at town hall with his employees, who suddenly find themselves out of work.

“We let him use our town meeting room to set up a computer for the Department of Labor so he can work with these individuals and fast track them for unemployment,” Jylkka said.

Jylkka also praised the community’s response.

“The support that we’ve had has been tremendous,” he said

As an example, Jylkka spoke about Bevin’s request for 25 pallets.

“Matt needed 25 pallets, so I called a member of the Economic Development Commission, said any help you can provide would be tremendous,” he said. “Within a half an hour, Paul’s and Sandy’s had 25 pallets.”

Eileen Daily and Joe Courtney have contacted Bevin and offered their support, too, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal will tour the site on Thursday.

Also, the commissioner’s office of the DECD has assigned an individual to act as a liaison. “They’ve been great,” Jylkka said.

“We’re helping him try to figure out what grants may be available for the factory site, and if he’s going to open up another site, what can we help him out with in the way of grants,” Jylkka said.

There is no official word on what Bevin is thinking as far as rebuilding goes. With such a daunting task facing him when he arrived from his home in Louisville, Ky., on Sunday, his heart and mind has first and foremost been on his employees. Salvaging what he can from the factory, however, will be a factor.

“The dies are really the brains,” Jylkka said, repeating what Bevin has said before. “If you have the brains you can build the body.”

Salvage operations were being conducted on Wednesday. One of those assisting was Rich Grover, whose wife, Stephanie, was the office manager at the factory.

According to Grover, early indications are the dies are in decent shape.

In an NPR interview on Wednesday, Bevin indicated he was leaning toward rebuilding, saying "This is a dream whose time has not come to die."

He went on, saying, "Within reason, anything that can be done, I am determined to do. ... This is Belltown baby, and bells should be ringing in Belltown."

Listen to the NPR interview with Bevin and others on Wednesday's Where We Live.

Not all news from the site on Wednesday was good, however.

Police confirmed that looters had stolen approximately 1,500 pounds of formed, trimmed hand bells from the site. The bells are made of brass and are all blackened and gray from fire damage.

Police are asking anyone with information or inquiries to call East Hampton Police at 860-267-9922.

Copper also is believed to have been taken from the site.

As for the cause of the fire, East Hampton Fire Marshal Rich Klotzbier confirmed what had been reported by The Hartford Courant, that the fire was undetermined but likely caused by a lightning strike.

Klotzbier said a lightning strike can not be 100 percent certain, therefore the investigation must be officially characterized as undetermined.

He said that determination was made by state and local fire marshals about 11 p.m. on Sunday with the help of lightning verification reports. According to reports received from Vaisala's National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), 262 lightning strikes were recorded within a five-mile radius of the factory during the severe thunderstorms that rolled through the area late Saturday afternoon.

The investigation is closed.

As the cleanup continues, the town will continue to stand by ready to assist Bevin.

“If we can help, we’re going to help,” Jylkka said.