Fire destroys fishing supply store in Pictou

Firefighters from six departments were unable to save a fishing supply store in Pictou, N.S., after battling an intense blaze at the site Wednesday morning.

Fire crews were called to the scene on Water Street at about 5 a.m., but found the business, Vernon d'Eon Fishing Supplies Ltd., already engulfed in flames, according to Paul Janes, the fire chief of the Pictou Fire Department.

He said the business stocked a lot of nylon plastic rope that contains oil.

"Because of what they carry and the quantity of what they carry — once it catches fire it is an intense type of fuel."

Several other fire departments were called in to help, including those from Caribou, Abercrombie, Stellarton, Westville and New Glasgow. 

Some brought equipment for refilling firefighters' air cylinders, while the New Glasgow department brought its ladder truck. 

The group managed to put out the fire, but the building's roof collapsed and the structure is considered a total loss, said Janes.

No one was injured in the blaze.

The store employed three people, according to Vernon d'Eon Fishing Supplies Ltd. The company said it has been offered a temporary space for its business in Pictou, but details haven't been worked out. 

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

The Pictou County Justice Centre, also located on Water Street, was closed Wednesday due to the smoke from the fire. It will reopen on Monday after staff have a chance to thoroughly clean the building, said a spokesperson for the provincial Justice Department.