Post-Fire Restoration Moving Along at Avon's Historic Derrin House

AVON, CT, — Since an accidental fire occurred at the 18th-century Derrin Farm House in the Spring, Glastonbury-based American Integrity Restoration has been working withthe Avon Historical Society on the demolition, mitigation restoration of the house and some of the artifacts.

Work began on August 15.

A fincal cost has not been disclosed, but the work is being paid by the insurance proceeds from the the society, officials said.

According to AIR Owner, Steve Weir, “Since commencing the project sux weeks ago, American

Integrity Restoration’s crews have made transformational progress."

Weir said with interior and exterior demolition completed, structural and glazing work is now well on its way with, "clear respect and focus of maintaining strict processes to preserve the historical significance of the Derrin House."

Immediately following structural repairs, the House will be treated to eliminate any presence or smell of smoke, he said.

"We are excited about the progress our team is making at the Derrin House," Weir said. "At this point, we are ahead of schedule, and the results of cleaning are exceeding expectations. One of the keys to the success for
this project is our great working relationship with members of The Avon Historical Society. We are
really looking forward to being able to deliver them a great finished product.”

He said "selected artifacts" were removed from the house and are undergoing restoration at the AIR facility
in Glastonbury.

Society President Terri Wilson, and John Forster a board trustee overseeing the Derrin
House project, visited the facilities recently and said that AIR has done an "incredible job" cleaning
and restoring items like furniture, implements, kitchen items and beds, "back to their original
condition, whenever possible."

Some of the artifacts were completely covered in soot and needed gentle cleaning while others needed "much more attention," Wilson said.

For example, an early 20th century Hoosier cabinet donated by the Thompson family farm in Avon sustained strong smoke and soot damage and its cabinet windows were blown out, Wilson said.

Weir said it can and be restored to its pre-fire condition. AIR has experts in all fields necessary to work with historic properties.

The fire was on May 11. It was accidental and started in one of the oldest rooms of the building.

The Avon Volunteer Fire Department, with mutual aid from Canton, Farmington and Simsbury, was able to contain the fire and save the structure.

Fire officials said the blaze started from spontaneous combustion from oil soaked rags left over from a staining project inside the prior day. The building has been determined to be structurally sound.

Wilson said the board of trustees of the society spent 10 weeks working with experts on the necessary
steps toward "adaptive reuse to put the structure back to its pre-fire condition."

The preparation included included an environmental review to "ascertain any asbestos and lead," a full inventory and documentation of the damage, including the artifacts inside and interviewing restoration companies and carpenters, "to determine what needs to be done to restore the building to pre-loss condition," she said.

The three rooms that suffered the most damage have been gutted while others are being cleaned of the soot and smoke damage, Wilson said. According to AIR, this process requires the use of dry ice to remove debris and ozone treatments for odor removal.

The Historical Society has maintained the house since leasing it from the State Department of the Military in 1996. Prior to that, it was used by the First Co. Governor’s Horse Guard, located across the street, as the caretaker’s house since 1954, but later as storage for old tack and gear. The Society was going to commemorate the Derrin family acquiring of the property in 1766 (250 years ago) on June 12, just weeks after the fire.

Wilson said, "The overwhelming support from many in the community has been wonderful
especially COSTEP-CT, the coordinated statewide emergency preparedness team specializing in
responding to disasters at historical societies, museums and cultural heritage organizations. The many
members of COSTEP-CT have been providing us with assistance, guidance, support, and coordination
every step of the way; we would not have been able to make it this far without them.”

COSTEP-CT, organized with a grant from FEMA, is made up of specialists from the CT State Library and Archives, Yale and University of Connecticut conservation offices, CT League of Historic Organizations, CT Historical Society, CT Trust for Historic Preservation, CT Department of Economic and Community Development and volunteers with specialization in disaster relief.

Photo Credit: American Integrity Restoration and the Avon Historical Society