Fire in Kentucky destroys Jim Beam warehouse filled with 45,000 barrels of bourbon
A fire destroyed a Jim Beam warehouse in Kentucky that was filled with 45,000 barrels of bourbon, authorities said Wednesday. (Fox News)
A massive fire destroyed a Jim Beam warehouse filled with 45,000 barrels of bourbon in Kentucky, authorities said Wednesday.
Firefighters from four counties responded to the Tuesday warehouse blaze in Versailles, local officials said. It was not immediately clear what the cause of the fire was but lightning may have been a factor, Woodford County Emergency Management director Drew Chandler said. No injuries were reported in the incident.
One warehouse had caught fire before flames spread to a second structure, the Courier-Journal reported. Emergency crews were able to extinguish the fire in the second warehouse. Existing containment berms were reinforced with sand to limit runoff into a nearby creek.
The fire was said to be so intense that it melted lights off the firetrucks.
Officials from Beam Suntory, the subsidiary maker of Jim Beam, said the multi-story warehouse that burned contained “relatively young whiskey,” meaning it had not reached maturity for bottling for consumers. A normal barrel can hold about 53 gallons of the alcohol.
"Given the age of the lost whiskey, this fire will not impact the availability of Jim Beam for consumers," the spirits company said in a statement.
The fire was said to be so hot that it melted the lights off the firetrucks. (Fox News)
The destroyed whiskey amounted to about 1 percent of Beam's bourbon inventory, the world’s largest bourbon brand said in a statement. The company is owned by Suntory Holdings Ltd., a Japanese beverage company.
Beam Suntory officials said the distiller has a "comprehensive" warehouse safety program that includes regular inspections and "rigorous protocols" to promote safety. The distiller said it operates 126 barrel warehouses in Kentucky that hold about 3.3 million barrels of its brands.
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This is just the latest fire at a warehouse in Kentucky. Last month, a storm partially collapsed a warehouse at O.Z. Tyler Distillery in Owensboro. Last year, half a warehouse collapsed at the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.