Seafood business keen to get back in operation 'as soon as possible' after blaze
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FIREFIGHTERS battled overnight to bring a blaze within a building at Scrabster Seafoods under control.
A total of six fire appliances – from Thurso, Wick, John O'Groats, Helmsdale and Inverness – were involved in tackling the fire at Scrabster harbour which was spotted around 5pm on Sunday.
Will Calder (40), a company director, said: "I was notified about the fire around 10 minutes past five by a phone call from someone who saw smoke coming out of the building."
Fire crew arrived on the scene just a few minutes after Mr Calder made it to the family business.
Speaking on Monday morning, he said: "They did their best to try and get it out, but given the insulated materials it was quite difficult to get the fire out.
"The only consolation is there was no-one in the building and no-one was injured. The factory itself is in quite a bad state – it will need completely gutted."
Mr Calder said: "It was all a bit surreal last night – it was not a nice situation. Obviously we have staff to think about. We are just trying to plan things out and get back in operation as soon as possible."
Scrabster Seafoods – employing around 40 people – will continue to trade from its old premises, which has a limited capacity. The fish vans will still be going out as usual.
Mr Calder explained that there were two large walk-in chills (fridges) in the factory which contained crabs, lobsters and fish.
He added: "I'd just like to thank the police and fire services for their help in the matter and everyone else for their calls and messages."
Mr Calder had been taking part in a family celebration when he received the call about the fire. They were about to light the candles on a cake for his son Findlay's sixth birthday.
Karen Munro, whose home at East Gills overlooks the harbour, and who took photos of the blaze, said: "I could see it from my house. I was quite shocked by how quickly it escalated – it looked quite wild within 15 minutes.
"There were flames coming right up through the roof and a lot of black smoke. It must have been extremely difficult for the firemen. They did an amazing job."
She added: "It is just a sad sight to see, especially for the owners and the people who work there. The main thing is that nobody was hurt."
Initially two fire engines were called out from Thurso at 5.11pm, with another two requested around 20 minutes later – from John O'Groats and Wick – and then just before 7pm two further appliances were requested, a fire engine from Helmsdale and the aerial ladder platform from Inverness.
The final stop message was received at Scottish Fire and Rescue Service headquarters at 00.47, but firefighters stayed at the scene until around 3am. The fire involved the whole roof of the building which was estimated to be 30m by 20m in size.
Police officers assisted in the incident and the road at Scrabster was reported to have been closed for some time during the fire.
