Fire destroys smokehouse in Petit-Cap

A smokehouse in southeastern New Brunswick was destroyed by fire Tuesday morning.

A report of smoke in Petit-Cap came in at 5:01 a.m., said Yves LeBlanc, deputy chief of the Cap-Acadie Fire Department.

On the way to the scene, about 57 kilometres east of Moncton on the Northumberland Strait, word came it may have been a garage fire, he said, speaking in French to a reporter from Radio-Canada.

But when firefighters arrived,they discovered it was actually a fish-processing smokehouse, said LeBlanc.

It's the latest of many fires in the area in the last several years, including several at smokehouses and other fish plants.

This time, the affected business is Elphege & Norbert LeBlanc, the Cap-Acadie Chamber of Commerce said in a news release.

It's owned by Marc and Donna Cormier and has about 40 employees, said Anthony Azard, chamber CEO.

WATCH | 'This is a very sad situation for the business community here in Cap-Acadie'

The fire was in a large building, said the deputy fire chief, and working in the heat was difficult for firefighters.

In all, between 40 and 45 firefighters responded from Cap-Acadie's two fire stations, as well as departments in Shediac, Port Elgin and Dieppe, he said.

The fire was still burning when LeBlanc was being interviewed Tuesday morning. He expected firefighters would be on scene for most of the day.

LeBlanc said the fire started at the rear of the building, but the cause is still under investigation.

He couldn't comment on any possible fire hazards on site.

Images from the scene show a large section burned to the ground.

"It's sad. It's very sad. It doesn't make sense," said Ally Wescott, who works at a smokehouse in the area.

"That many more people don't have a job. I hope they rebuild."

Wescott said when she moved to Cap-Pel from Sackville when she was 14, there were 28 smoke sheds in the area.

Several have burned down in recent years.

"We're running out of our shops to work for,"she said.

"It is an unfortunate situation," said Azard.

"The Cap-Acadie Chamber of Commerce will guide the owners to the right resources at the right time and we will offer our support to the owners when it will be the appropriate time to do so," he said.

There are still about 20 smokehouses in the area, he said, and they play a big role in the local economy.

They mainly smoke herring for export to the Caribbean, but some also process alewives and mackerel.

The federal Fisheries Department announced a few days ago that the herring quota was being reduced again due to low stocks.

Azard asked people not to speculate on the fire cause.

"Right now, we need to support the owners who have just lost an important asset," he said.

A report by the fire marshal's office obtained by CBCNews last year found more than half of a spate of fires in the area had been deliberately ignited.

Azard said thatas far as he knows, there have been no confirmed cases of arson in the area in the last year or so.

"With the most recent fires that happened in Cap-Pel or Canadian Silver Herring, it wouldn't be arson at this point. This is information that I last had a few months ago."

Nathalie Cormier, the chamber board chair, also expressed "unwavering support" for the smokehouse owners and employees.