Remembering the Baltic Mill Fire

Eight years since the Baltic Mill Fire - August 11, 1999

The Baltic Mill Fire in Sprague, CT was an event I accidentally showed up for. I was 15 and had just gotten a tetanus shot for my school checkup and was running errands with my dad, who had to do some kitchen equipment repair work at the Hillside Cafe, about a mile from the mill.

This was the second time the mill for Baltic village burned, the first time being in the 1880's when the original mill burned to the ground. The new Baltic Mill was constructed in 1887 with granite quarried from the Marriott Granite Quarry in nearby Sterling, CT, and once again became a prosperous textile mile. However, like most New England textile mills, the Baltic Mill was closed by the mid 1980's.

The last large mill fire eastern Connecticut had seen was in Jewett City in 1994, but the Baltic Mill seemed to be the start of many more to come. These mills, some abandoned for more than 20 years, had decayed so poorly that the towns couldn't afford the cost of demolition and cleanup for asbestos abatement, and no one wanted to take on the task of rehabilitating them.

The fire was unintentionally started by some middle-school kids who were hanging out in the mill during the early morning.

It was 1999. I didn't even have a camera of my own--much less digital-- but by sheer luck my dad had a disposable camera in his truck. While my dad did work, I took off running and ran a mile in heels to try to get decent photos of the fire before it was out.

No luck, unfortunately, but here's what I wrote about the event anyway (from a journal entry dated August 14, 1999):
...Dad had to go to the Hillside Cafe in Baltic. On our way, Dad said, "Look, blue clouds!" I thought he was nuts :) but he then said, "oh, that's smoke". I immediately thought "Oh my god, the mill's on fire!" And I was right. The Baltic Mill had already been gutted when by the time I saw it. Nevertheless, I still wanted pictures.

First shot I took of the mill tower, from next to the Sprague Historical Society.

I ended up running from the Hillside Cafe' all the way to the bridge over the Shetucket River to get my pictures. While I was there, Channel 30, 3, and 8 showed up. The Norwich Bulletin and The Day were there as well as AM 1310 (Norwich radio station) It seemed like the entire town turned out just to watch. Damn, wish I was a journalist. Oh well. This was one hell of an event. I got my best shot from next to the old grist mill, now the Sprague Library/Historical Society.

You can see the satellite truck for one of the TV stations to the left. This is the bridge over the Shetucket River on Rt. 97. This bridge was evacuated shortly after this picture because of the fire's proximity to some large propane tanks.

After the evacuation, I took this shot while walking back to the library/historical society. I milled about inside the building for a bit and learned that earlier in the day, even buildings on the opposite side of the river had been evacuated too.

(I didn't actually get my pictures developed for a year because I lost the camera.)

The skeletal walls of the Baltic Mill were torn down during the summer of 2000, but part of the mill that was saved still stands today.

Six years later, when the InterRoyal Mill went up in flames in Plainfield, CT, I was more than ready for it and showed up while fireballs were bursting out the roof...but that's another entry.