Crystal Truong stayed up all night Wednesday, watching as flames engulfed the building she's worked in for almost 30 years, unable to hold back tears. She couldn't believe it. She said she felt as if her livelihood was gone in the matter of one minute.
"When I drove down here, I [saw] the flame and it’s, it’s so bad," Truong recounted Thursday morning, when she returned to the scene to see the damage. "I fell down and I [said], ‘Oh my god. Everything is gone now.'"
The Galveston Fire Departmentresponded to the fireat about 8:40 p.m. Wednesday,city spokesperson Marissa Barnett wrote in a news release. The structure fire atTexas Gulf Seafood, located near 7th Street and Wharf Road, was contained by early Thursday morning, but crews were still putting out flare-ups throughout the day Thursday.
Truong, who worked as the office manager of the building, said employees at the warehouse typically help unload shrimp from local fishermen’s boats. Truong said they then send the seafood to a company that will pack it and distribute it to restaurants or grocery stores.
The supply of seafood to some Houston-area restaurants could be affected.
“Our restaurants and seafood suppliers are already operating under significant cost pressures; for example, unprocessed finfish costs are up nearly 31% since last year. While it's too early to determine the full impact of this fire, we're in close contact with local industry leaders to monitor for any supply chain disruptions. As more information becomes available, we'll share updates and resources with the community to help our members and the supply chain partners they rely upon to serve fresh Gulf seafood to our fellow Texans,” Texas Restaurant Association officials said in a statement to Houston Public Media Thursday afternoon.
Texas Gulf Seafood representatives could not immediately be reached for comment about the future of the warehouse.
Truong said she's worried about fishermen who aren't able to move their boats out of the area and continue their day’s work since crews are actively putting out flare-ups in the building that sits on the Galveston Channel.
"One day, two days they don’t work, they lost a lot of money. One day lost [is] like $10,000 already," Truong said.
Galveston Fire Chief Mike Varela said an investigation into what started the fire is in the early stages and a cause hasn't been determined yet.
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