A building burned at a storied seafood processing company in Crisfield. Thankfully no one was hurt, but it caused $350,000 in damage.
The 7,500-square-food crab shedding house, which is currently being used as a maintenance shop, belongs to Handy Seafood, on North 7th Street along the Crisfield waterfront.
The fire was discovered by a passerby just after 1:45 a.m. Thursday, according to the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal.
The Crisfield Volunteer Fire Department responded to the flames, bringing the fire under control in one hour. The fire marshal’s office didn’t know if any fire alarms or sprinklers were present in the building. They say the fire originated in the rear interior and they are investigating the cause.
The maintenance and storage building that burned was separate from the main production facility, Handy Seafood spokesperson Maureen Johnson said in a statement.
“No injuries were reported, and the fire caused minimal disruption to the plant’s operations,” Johnson said.
Handy Seafood has been in business in Crisfield since 1894, making it the oldest seafood processor in America, according to the company’s website. The original Handy plant, built in 1903, was first to process soft shell crabs, streamlining the process in the 1980s as the first to use electronic sizing to sort soft shells. They were shipped around the world.
Handy later set a Guinness Book World Record for the largest crabcake, then broke its own record with a 300-pound crabcake. The company made crabcake sandwiches from the giant cake and sold them to benefit Eastern Shore charities.
While the headquarters are now located in Salisbury, Maryland, operations continue in Crisfield. The company celebrated its milestone 125th anniversary in 2019.
