Bellevue Mill Destroyed in Hillsborough Fire

Crews are still working to extinguish all portions of a fire that destroyed a historic mill in West Hillsborough on Friday.

Smoke poured out of the former Bellevue Manufacturing Company’s textile mill on Nash Street Friday afternoon. Crews were fighting the fire throughout the night but said that the fire was continuing to burn under the collapsed roof as of eight o’clock Saturday morning.

The building that caught fire is the northernmost and oldest of the four mill buildings, according to the town. It is located near a revitalized portion of Hillsborough that houses Hillsborough BBQ Company and Mystery Brewing. There is also a residential area just to the north of the destroyed mill.

Luckily, the fire was contained and did not impact any of the other historic buildings or nearby homes.

Orange Rural Fire Department crews were called to the scene just before five o’clock Friday evening. In all, seven other crews from the surrounding area responded and had the fire contained before 7:30.

The roof of the historic mill collapsed just before 5:30; officials say that roof’s inward collapse helped crews keep the fire from spreading.

Many roads were shut down but spectators gathered in nearby parking lots taking in the scene and homeowners just north of the fire used water hoses to spray the adjacent fence line in an effort to help prevent the spread of the fire.

Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens said in a release that he was impressed with the collaboration from different departments within the town as well as the surrounding area.

“It’s impressive to see these firefighters at work,” Stevens said. “It’s clear that these mutual aid agreements we have are working.”

A release says it could be Sunday before investigators are able to enter the building.

The State Bureau of Investigation as well as Hillsborough’s fire marshal and police detectives will investigate the cause of the fire, with assistance from Orange Rural Fire Department and the Orange County Fire Marshal Division. But the investigation may take several weeks due to the amount of debris.

“It’s certainly a tragedy about the building, but it appears nobody was hurt and no other buildings are being affected,” Stevens said. “Thanks to the quick response, the fire did not spread to adjacent parts of the historic building. Job No. 1 is that people are safe.”

The Bellevue mill, which dates back to the early 1900s, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated by the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners as a local historic landmark.

The last occupant of the mill was Flynt Fabrics, which closed its Hillsborough operations in September 2000.

A renovation had been planned to turn the mill into apartments.

While Hillsborough BBQ was forced to close for the night due to the fire, the restaurant provided food to emergency workers as their shifts ended fighting the fire. Mystery Brewing also opened its doors to the emergency workers as they rotated off-duty.

Bellevue Mill Destroyed in Hillsborough Fire

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