Officials investigate Handy Seafood Inc. fire, resident reflects on impact of the plant

CRISFIELD. – At around 1AM Thursday morning, Crisfield Fire Chaplain, Robert Goldsborough, received a call: one of the Handy Seafood plants was ablaze.

At the scene, Goldsborough said a thick cloud of smoke filled the air, and several firetrucks on scene were working to quell the fire.

“When I got in this area, it was quite an undertaking,” Goldsborough said. “We had 4 or 5 companies here, from around Somerset County, and they did a bang-up job trying to get this thing out. It took us a while, but they finally got it done.”

But later in the day, at around 12 PM, the seemingly tamed fire burst again. thick black smoke began rising, and fire officials were back on scene.

Goldsborough said with the size of the factory, he wasn’t surprised a second fire showed its head.

“It’s hard to get in buildings like that, to put them out completely,” Goldsborough said. “Sometimes, you just have to keep an eye on it and monitor it, and you’ll probably see it back down here.”

The building is a maintenance and storage facility for the seafood processing plant. In a statement, Handy Seafood Inc. said no injuries were reported.

With officials actively working to put the pieces together to find out what caused the fire, Goldsborough said Handy is a staple in Crisfiled history.

“This is a business that’s been around for over 100 years, and there’s a lot of people employed here, “Goldsborough said. “It does big for the economy, and hopefully this won’t damage the economy and the business itself. and “Maybe [they’ll] build back whatever was here in this area.”