fire firegeezer on 31 May 2008 04:14 pm
Big Lobster Boil In Boston
A 7-ALARM FIRE IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, EARLY FRIDAY MORNING completely destroyed one of the city’s landmark businesses, the James Hook and Company lobster wholesalers (see STATter911’s original report HERE).
Assoc. Press
By mid-day the old wooden buildings that made up the firm were lost to the flames. Despite the fact that the building was always moist inside because of the lobster tanks, the old wood and the creosote treatment on the wharf’s pilings fueled the fire beyond the point of saving it. When the monitored alarm came in to the FD shortly after 3 am, the nearest station just two blocks away found the structure already fully involved.
More than 135 firefighters fought the blaze. The city’s large fireboats were prevented from approaching the fire scene because of the very low bridges that flank the structures.
Globe/Jarek photo
The family business was begun by the current owner’s grandfather in 1925 and has been at the same location the entire time. Despite being surrounded by a forest of modern commercial skyscrapers, the grubby old buildings with the hand-painted signs were a reminder of Boston’s seafaring past. While most of the city’s seafood industry has moved to the South Boston harbor area, the Hook business hung in there and became a tourist attraction in itself, selling lobster rolls to walkup customers.
The business contained 300 holding tanks that were filled with continuously-circulating sea water. Approximately 60,000 lbs. of live lobsters worth more than $500,000 were lost in the fire. Most of their stock is caught in and trucked down from Canada where it is then shipped around the world. Hook generally shipped out 50,000 lbs. a day.
Before the fire was even out, the family members emphatically said that they will remain in business, probably at the same location. For now, they will get a tent set up and carry on operations because product will continue to arrive and they have customers to serve. They expect to be back in business come Monday morning.
Today’s Boston Globe has a good background story HERE.
View the Globe’s photo gallery HERE.
This Ch. 25 video report includes some fire footage:
