Quinlan Brothers intends to rebuild its fire-ravaged, fish processing facility located in Newfoundland’s Bay de Verde, the company confirmed on Tuesday, 12 April.
The fire engulfed the Quinlan Brothers facility during the early hours of Monday, 11 April and raged on throughout the day, prompting city authorities to evacuate residents and call on four fire crews to help combat the blaze. No one was hurt in the fire, which was mostly put out by Tuesday afternoon, but the facility suffered extensive damage, throwing into doubt the futures of the more than 700 employees who worked at the plant processing crab, shrimp and groundfish.
Employees could breathe a small sigh of relief after company executives Wayne and Robin Quinlan and plant manager Barry Hatch confirmed the processor’s plans to rebuild a structure that would be "bigger and better than ever" during a tour of the ruined facility on Tuesday.
"The company is working round the clock to put in place arrangements with other producers to add capacity, increase shifts, etc. that will ensure the seafood landed is processed in a timely and high-quality manner," the company said in a statement given to CBC News.
As of now, Quinlan Brothers is looking to divert much of its seafood processing volume to other area processing plants, “which should result in some work for people normally employed at the Bay de Verde facility,” according to CBC. The company will continue to buy seafood from harvesters as well.
"The company's staff at Bay de Verde will be coordinating the transition of workers together processing facilities and they will keep in touch with the workforce to inform them of these developments as they are established," the company said in a statement. “There has been a great loss of physical assets, but all of it can and will be replaced. The company is fully insured and it will rebuild at Bay de Verde as quickly as possible."
Quinlan Brothers thanked firefighters and others who responded to the site during the fire. Bay de Verde's Mayor Gerard Murphy lifted the state of emergency in effect for the local fishing community late on Monday, allowing 300 evacuees to return to their homes.
