Firefighters had a slippery time when they caught a 999 call to a blaze at a smoked salmon processing plant on New Road in Rainham last night.
As well as the fire, crews had to contend with a factory floor covered in shoals of salmon which ended up being smoked even more than planned.
The blaze severely damaged the reception and main fish processing area of the business, including part of the first floor above.
Watch Manager Stephen King, who was at the fire, said:
“The place was well alight when fire crews entered the fish processing area, which was full of thick black smoke. Pallets of fresh fish were stacked two meters tall and inevitably some of them were knocked over. Hundreds of fish were spilt all over the floor and the area became very slippery.”
Fortunately, the business was closed when the fire began and no one was injured.
The cause of the fire is believed to be an electrical fault.
Four fire engines, 21 firefighters and officers from Wennington, Barking and Dagenham Fire Stations attended the incident.
The Brigade was called at 2332 and the fire was brought under control at 0053.