BUCYRUS — An overheated motor started a fire the morning of July 31 at Bucyrus Copper Kettle Works.
Bucyrus Fire Capt. Casey Gillen said the fire reached the attic. An employee used a fire extinguisher to knock it down until firefighters arrived.
“A significant part of the building is still usable,” Gillen said. “There was more water damage than fire damage.”
Gillen said he was concerned about water damage to the machinery at the company, which was founded in 1874. Bucyrus Copper Kettle Works is the nation’s last active workshop producing hand-hammered copper kettles.
Firefighters got the call at 10:15 a.m. and returned to the station about noon. There were no injuries to employees or firefighters.
“We’re lucky that it didn’t happen at night,” Gillen said. “It would have been a whole lot worse.”
The historic site started as an addition to a local hardware store to manufacture apple butter kettles. In 1974, the building at 119 S. Walnut St. was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Bucyrus Copper Kettle Works was operated by four generations of the Picking family until leadership transitioned to modern preservationists like Steve Schifer and later owner James Patrick to keep the 19th-century copper smithing alive.
A call to the company would not go through.
Reach Mark Caudill at 419-521-7219 or via X at @MarkCau32059251.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Bucyrus firefighters extinguish blaze at Copper Kettle Works
Reporting by Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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By Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal | USA TODAY Network
