Large industrial building destroyed after fire in Lower West Pubnico

A large industrial building in Lower West Pubnico, N.S., was destroyed after it caught fire Friday night.

Devin d'Entremont, chief of the West Pubnico Fire Department, said they were called to Silver Roe Seafoods Ltd. at 7:40 p.m. AT.

He arrived on scene around 10 minutes later.

"She was fully involved," he said. "There was lots of ... black, heavy smoke. There was sparking from the wires. The wires were still live at the time and it was a clear night."

D'Entremont said there were three high-voltage transformers on site and Nova Scotia Power had to come to turn off the electricity.

The fire chief said multiple departments were called to assist. Fire crews left around 12:40 a.m. Saturday.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, said d'Entremont.

He said no one was in the building at the time of the fire.

Glenn Diggdon, a resident, said he spotted smoke while driving home from the Dennis Point Wharf.

"I hauled down to see what was on fire and I saw the corner of the freezer, it was just starting to catch on fire," he said.

Diggdon said he called the fire department at 7:35 p.m. and waited at the scene until they arrived.

"The fire had started on the eastern corner of the building and it was progressing really fast and going up the side of the building," Diggdon said.

"And there was a few small explosions about 15 minutes or so after I called the fire in, a couple of small explosions inside the building."

Silver Roe Seafoods is listed as a bait dealer and cold storage company, according to a post on the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance website.