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 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.
“It’s so sad,” he said in an interview with CBC News. “You know, I live there five years. I love there. 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.
