One year later: family announces Belfast potato processing plant will not be rebuilt

BELFAST, Maine (WABI) – It’s been a year since the City of Belfast was flipped upside down by a fire that destroyed the Penobscot McCrum factory, but with grit and resiliency of the community, this was the first step towards rebuilding.

“It’s a miracle. It’s a miracle no one got hurt,” said Belfast Mayor Eric Sanders.

“You know, that was really probably one of the largest hazards that we’ve had to face in quite a while, you know, right there at that facility and for everybody to see that and realize that, you know, that drew a lot of attention and a lot of support for all the agencies involved,” said Belfast Fire Chief Patrick Richards.

In the early hours of March 24, 2022, crews from multiple towns responded to the blaze at the Penobscot McCrum factory that investigators say started in one of the fryolator machines and quickly spread.

A shelter in place order was enacted and RSU 71 cancelled school for the day as a safety precaution with the potential of chemicals being released.

Luckily, none of the 138 employees were injured, but the instant concern of what next flooded the minds of the entire community. The city used their Keep the Faith fund to help the workers.

“How is this going to impact the people that work there?

So, immediately the City of Belfast jumped that day. We had Hannaford gift cards into their paychecks immediately. The following week, the City of Belfast had £500 paychecks into their next paycheck.

And then following that, several weeks, another just because just to help these folks with the transition. Our community really came together to do that,” said City Manager Erin Herbig.

The factory had been a big part of the city for many years. Residents are reminded daily of the hole that now exists once used to be a leader for processing one of our state’s delicacies.

“A lot of pride in the fact that we, you know, we processed potatoes, and, you know, it’s an important part of the town.

It was just as important as anything else. So, when I drive by and I don’t see it, I remember it, and I hope whether it’s there or some other place that we have other businesses like that, that continue to decide to come here to grow and be a part of our community,” Sanders said.

A year later, the McCrum family has announced they will be expanding their location in Washburn in Aroostook County but will not be rebuilding at the site. However, the City will continue to evolve while working together toward a brighter future.

“That’s what Belfast does.

We were met with a challenge, and we turn it around, and usually something really beautiful comes of it,” Herbig said.

When I think back to March 24, 2021, there are plenty of reasons that I could look at the darkness and fear that we all had that day, but now a year later I feel like there were so many positives that came out of that day.

The day started with a phone call of a small fire, totally manageable but we would be closed for the day. When I arrived to the plant around 4 AM a small fire was not what I saw. The fire that started small, quickly spread throughout our entire building and soon it was completely engulfed in flames.

We quickly worked as a family and as a team to try and provide all the resources that we could to our employees.

Working with employees on their resumes and helping them try and find new jobs that they could succeed at. We worked closely with the Belfast City officials and donors in the area to make sure our employees could be cared for financially for a short amount of time. Together we were able to help those who had given their heart and soul to our company for years.

After the first month of speaking with employees and trying to find a way out of the rubble, the dust finally began to settle.

I always thought of Belfast as a second family and it has been hard for me to not take a morning and evening walk thru the plant and see everyone. Your stories and families filled me with such joy and every time I return to Belfast I hope to bump in to you and see how you are doing.

We are so fortunate to have our facility in Washburn that was able to continue manufacturing during this time to give us a minute to figure out what we were going to do. We often times spoke in meetings and to the press that we didn’t want to make a decision quickly as to what we were going to do next as we needed some time, but at this point we have a way forward.

At this time, we have decided to expand our manufacturing in Washburn and making a significant investment in that facility. This investment will allow us to continue to work closely with growers and suppliers in Aroostook County whom we are already working with at our facility.

We know that us choosing to not rebuild in Belfast will have an impact but we feel continuing to invest in Washburn and in Aroostook County is a great opportunity for us. We pray that our comeback will be greater than our setback and that we will forever hold the memories and people that we met in Belfast with us as we continue on with our story.

-Dayna McCrum, Human Resources manager