Fire services believe that the blaze, which severely damaged the reception and the business’s main production area, including part of the first floor above, was caused by an electrical fault.
Attempts by fire crews to tackle the conflagration were hampered by shoals of fish spilling on to the factory floor, said the London Fire Brigade in a statement.
‘Thick black smoke’
“The place was well alight when fire crews entered the fish processing area, which was full of thick black smoke,” said watch manager Stephen King, who attended the inferno.
“Pallets of fresh fish were stacked two metres tall and inevitably some of them were knocked over. Hundreds of fish were spilt all over the floor and the area became very slippery.”
Firefighters and officers from Wennington, Barking and Dagenham Fire Stations attended the incident after the initial 999 call was made at 23:32. The fire was brought under control at 00:53.
No-one injured
Fortunately, the business had been closed when the blaze broke out and no-one was injured, fire services confirmed.
So far, attempts by FoodManufacture.co.uk to contact the firm, which operates out of four units at Suttons Business Park on New Road, have been unsuccessful.
Scotch Smoked Salmon Co was set up to be able to deliver a range of smoked fish, including salmon, gravad lax, trout, halibut and tuna sourced from Scotland, direct to consumers. It also handles organic salmon, accredited by the Soil Association. It was launched in 1987 and is run by md Simon Wane.
Managers within the business were understood to be assessing the extent of the damage and formulating contingency plans with a view to continue trading.