A fire at the Quinlan Brothers fish plant in Bay de Verde, Canada – in Newfoundland and Labrador – has resulted in government officials declaring a state of emergency for the area and evacuating nearly half of the local eastern fishing community.
Concern about the stability of a large ammonia tank within the burning facility was a main driver behind the evacuation, Bay de Verde Mayor Gerard Murphy said on Monday, 11 April.
"I had to call a state of emergency to evacuate most of the community because of the toxicity of the smoke and the potential danger of explosive material and the like in terms of chemicals at the plant," Murphy told CBC News.
As of Monday morning, no loss of life or injuries had been reported, a “saving grace” amidst a devastating situation, Murphy said to CBC News.
The fire is said to have started at 5:30 a.m. on Monday; by 2:00 p.m. local time, the Quinlan Brothers plant was still ablaze, with four fire crews from across the region working to combat the flames.
The Quinlan Brothers plant employs 700 workers and processes crab, shrimp and groundfish. The loss of the plant will be an economic blow for Bay de Verde and the communities surrounding it, said Gerard Broderick, a town councilor who works at the fish plant.
"This is not good. We have people here now from all over the island and there's not going to be any work. And we had a boat just off Bay de Verde waiting to come in with the crab … he's gone up the bay now," Broderick told CBC News.
