31 May, 2008

James Hook and Company Destroyed In Fire


James Hook and Company, a Boston landmark since 1925 and one of New England's largest wholesale/retail seafood suppliers, was destroyed by fire yesterday in a blaze that leveled their three buildings. The seven-alarm fire caused over $5 million dollars in damages, according to a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department.

It took 135 firefighters about seven hours to bring the fire under control. their job was made more difficult because the wooden building where the fire started was filled with corrugated cardboard shipping cartons, and was built over the Fort Point Channel on timbers soaked in creosote to prevent rotting.

No one was injured in the fire, and the Hook family has said that they will rebuild and reopen as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the city of Boston and the Mayor's office are working with the family to ensure that this important piece of Boston's history, economy, and culinary scene will survive the fire.

Tragically, about 60,000 pounds of lobster - worth a little over half a million dollars - perished in the blaze.


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