A two-alarm fire broke out in a Warrenton, Ore., seafood plant on June 4, destroying the facility.
According to KGW News, the fire at the Pacific Seafood plant prompted employees to evacuate. Of the 80 workers in the plant, all were able to exit the building and reach safety without any injuries before the fire took over. The cause of the fire is still unknown, and is under investigation. It was not clear if the facility was outfitted with an automated fire suppression system.
Firefighters from six different counties joined forces with the U.S. Coast Guard to battle the fire. The Clatsop County Fire Department received reports of the fire at 10:30 a.m., and managed to extinguish it by 4 p.m.
"I'd say the [flames] were about 50 to 100 feet [high] sometimes," said Gus Bartlet, a witness on the scene told the News. "And they'd die out and then pop up somewhere else on the building. And then the front went up and just kept going."
Because the plant processed seafood, it used anhydrous ammonia for its refrigeration system. Nearby tanks that held the refrigerant were closely monitored by firefighters, but could not find any sign the tanks had been compromised during the blaze, according to KGW.
"Our Warrenton facility has suffered a devastating fire," said Frank Dulcich, CEO of Pacific Seafood. "First and foremost, we are grateful that no one has been hurt. We are also grateful for the first responders in Clatsop County who fought the fire and managed the situation."
Pacific Seafood employs 2,500 people at 37 different facilities in the region. The Warrenton Pacific Seafood plant processed salmon eggs during the city's salmon season, as noted by Fish Information & Services.
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