Oregon-based Pacific Seafood remains in operation despite a devastating fire that ripped through the company’s Warrenton, Ore. facility on 4 June.
According to published reports, the fire started at about 10:30 a.m., possibly with a cooler on the premises, and destroyed the facility, but on 7 June CEO Frank Dulcich said the company is still up and running.
The company, he said, is using other facilities to help handle the catch coming in from vessels that normally deliver to Warrenton, and that there would be “no disruption of the supply of seafood to the market.”
Employees at the Warrenton facility, according to Dulcich, are still receiving full pay and benefits. Right now, they are helping to clean up the damage at Warrenton, but the company expects to reopen on 15 June in a temporary facility in nearby Astoria, Ore.
The exact cause is still not known, but investigators from the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have finished examining the site and have left, with no criminal investigation underway, Dulcich said.
In a statement, Dulcich said he has received support and well wishes from hundreds of people.
“Since the fire broke out on Tuesday morning, we’ve been overwhelmed and heartened by the generous outpouring of support from our neighbors, friends, colleagues and local leaders,” he said.
Dulcich thanked the Mayor of Warrenton, first responders, and other officials and friends who helped.
Dulcich did not say whether the company would rebuild at the same Warrenton location, but he did say that the company has been based in Warrenton for the past 30 years, “and we are determined to keep that same tradition for 30 more years and beyond.”
