Fire destroys seafood processing plant in Cape John

Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.

Scotsburn fire Chief Tim Van Veen said his crew was called to the blaze in Pictou County shortly before 9 p.m.

When he arrived, the flames were already devouring the structure.

"They were coming through the roofline and it was spreading through the inside left and right because it was open," he said.

Crews from fire departments in River John, Caribou, Wallace, West River, Abercrombie, Tatamagouche and New Glasgow were on scene.

Van Veen said the structure is "gone, totally gone."

The deputy fire chief of the River John fire department, James Brown, said the fire was tricky to fight because there were propane tanks inside as well as a lot of refrigerant gases.

Brown said firefighters attempted to go upstairs to get to the attic, but the floor was unsafe and they had to leave.

The fire was extinguished by about 3:30 a.m., he said.

The business, Cape John Crabs and Seafood, is owned by Jinhui Chen, also known as Huey.

Chen said the location employed 11 people in season, and he purchased seafood from 14 or 15 fishers. He's lived in Cape John for five years, he said.

"It's so sad," he said in an interview with CBC News. "I love Cape John, you know, all the people, all the everything. But right now, this happened, nothing I can do."

Chen said he plans to rebuild the plant.

"I still need that location for the future and I'm not quit[ting] this business," he said. 

Chen also owns a seafood processing plant in Port La Tour.

Cynthia Bigney worked at the plant for about 20 years, most recently as a temporary manager.

She drove out to the plant area when she heard about the fire on Wednesday night and said she was "just devastated" to see it destroyed.

"It's hard because there's so much history there," she said. "It's been over there 40 years now and it always hired local. It always helped out the economy, so yeah, it's going to be missed."

Bigney said she's not sure what she'll do for work in the upcoming season.

"We were just making plans to get down there and start painting and cleaning and getting ready for May for the opening. But I don't know, everything's right up in the air right now."

The destruction of the plant will cause uncertainty for the fishers who supplied it, who will now need to find new buyers for their product this year, she said.

"Next year will be up in the air because if they find buyers, they might not want to come back next year," Bigney said.