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Seattle Company's Fish Processing Plant Burns
July 22, 2008, 9:32 PM PDT
JUNEAU, AK —
A large fire has destroyed a fish processing plant owned by a Seattle company.
Residents foght the fire the Trident Seafoods processing plant in the Alaska Peninsula village of
Chignik Bay for two hours but it was just too much for them.
The area was evacuated because of the possibility that
nearby ammonia tanks might explode in the heat, said tribal
administrator Debbie Carlson.
More than 250 people worked at the plant in the small community
450 miles southwest of Anchorage. Several went to the local clinic
after having trouble breathing and a handful were taken to
Anchorage for treatment of possible smoke inhalation.
"It certainly shuts down operations for this year," said Joe
Plesha, the company's chief legal officer. "We're going to send
everyone home."
The fire started in a power house attached to the main canning
facility, Plesha said. A state Deputy Fire Marshall and a trooper
are investigating the cause of the fire.
Seattle-based Trident owns a second, now-defunct plant in the
area that will likely house the workers until they can fly out in
about four or five days, Plesha said.
The village of Chignik Bay has a permanent population of about
80 and does not have fire equipment that can handle such large,
quick-moving fires, according to Carlson.
At this time of year, plant workers are usually canning and
processing frozen sockeye salmon, Plesha said.
Plesha said the company has not decided whether it would rebuild
the plant.
Copyright © 2008, KCPQ
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