Fire destroys fish plant in small eastern Newfoundland community
by The Canadian Press
No injuries reported, but second major fish plant fire in the province this year puts 200 jobs at risk in town outside St. John's
WHITBOURNE, N.L.—Police were urging people to stay away from the scene of a fire that destroyed a fish plant in eastern Newfoundland.
People in Norman’s Cove-Long Cove reported hearing an explosion before the fire started at about 9 p.m. July 21.
Town Coun. Henry Brenton says the building went up quickly and was engulfed in flames within an hour and a half, dealing a devastating blow to the community.
Residents say smoke and flames could be seen from the surrounding area near the plant that employs about 200 people.
Dorset Fisheries plant manager Terry Reid told CBC that a transformer near the plant caught fire and within minutes the plant was burning.
Reid says there are about 70 people working at the plant processing capelin, but there were no reports of injuries.
The blaze follows the destruction of a fish plant in Bay de Verde, N.L earlier this year.
