WE’RE TOUGH

A large part of the plant was completely destroyed by the blaze. Lewis said the roof came down on where the production equipment – including key and specialized components – were housed.

“It’s pretty bad and on top of that, the roof over the area of what’s salvageable is still in question,” he said. “I’m not going to put people in there because of safety.”

There was also water and smoke damage in buildings that were still standing.

Yet while it was too early to know what the go-forward plan will be, Lewis said it was not too early to talk about rebuilding.

“We have fantastic people. We want to make sure they all transition well and then we also want to get them back to work, for them and for us,” he said. “There’s good demand for our products – some made in Nova Scotia product and made in rural Nova Scotia on top of that.”

TREMENDOUS EFFORT BY FIREFIGHTERS

Firefighters were heralded for their work and effort to keep this from being an even larger community disaster.

There was evidence of how they were able to contain the fire on parts of the property. A back portion where logs and lumber are kept was untouched by the fire. And the blaze did not spread to the forest surrounding the plant.

Asked what fighting the blaze was like, Weymouth Fire Chief Roy Mullen said, “A lot of heat. A lot of fuel. And thank God for the wind, it was blowing the right way.”

Like the large firefighting response, the support from the community was large too. Donations of food and bottled water were brought to the scene from many places, including Foodland, Sobeys, Superstore, Pizza Delight, Tim Hortons and other places. The Weymouth Legion had donations of food there too for the firefighters, from places like McDonalds, KFC and other places.

“Some of these guys have been here all night long so it was important that they could have something to eat and something cold to drink,” said volunteer firefighter Eric Comeau, as he tended to a truck filled with donated goods at the fire scene the morning of July 14.

For some firefighters, like Heather Robertson of the Nictaux department, this was the furthest distance they’d travelled to fight a fire. She said thoughts often turned to what was at stake for the community.

“You’re trying to focus on what you’re doing, but it’s always in the back of your mind. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of people out of work and that’s difficult because we’re in an economy where you can’t live without work,” she said.

Justin Gaudet only joined the Weymouth Fire Department three months ago at the urging of a co-worker and to follow in the footsteps of some of his wife’s family members. He was at the scene from early evening July 13 to midday July 14.

“It was quite the experience,” he said about the blaze. “It was good to see everybody working together.”

Weymouth firefighter

Emily Sutherland said this was the largest fire she had battled in her 10 years as a firefighter.

COMPANY GRATEFUL

Jamie Lewis could not say enough good things about the firefighters.

“They’re amazing people. We’re incredibly grateful and humble. There’s been people here going on 16 hours. They came from all over,” he said while at the scene the morning of July 14.

“I get chocked up pretty quick when I start thinking about it,” he said, the emotion evident in his voice. “This Weymouth Fire Department, a lot of the guys on it work for us and have worked for us for a long time and are friends. It’s hard to see them here fighting a fire where they work.”

Lewis said the fire spoke to the importance of employers supporting those who volunteer in the fire service.

“We know what it’s like to have people missing the next day because of a fire. You deal with it, because that’s what community is,” he said.

“I appreciate the employers from all over that are shorthanded today and not getting stuff done because of what happened here. It means a lot.”