Jim Beam thanks Kentucky firefighters who battled warehouse fire
Jim Beam is thanking the firefighters who worked to put out the large fire that recently destroyed a warehouse — and 45,000 barrels of bourbon — in Kentucky earlier this month.
The distiller of the world’s top-selling bourbon wrote an open letter to newspapers saying it would “raise our glass” to the firefighters who extinguished the fire and stopped it from spreading further.
Officials have blamed the July 2 fire on lightning. The blaze started to spread to a second warehouse, but firefighters were able to extinguish the second burning building. They battled the fire through the night and into the next morning. No one was injured.
“We humbly extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we’ve received in the wake of the fire that destroyed one of our bourbon barrel warehouses … And we raise our glass to the heroic firefighters and thank them for their courageous efforts to extinguish the fire and keep it from spreading,” the letter, which was provided to FOX Business, states.
Jim Beam also pledged in the letter to “restore the natural environment." An alcohol plume that leaked into nearby waterways killed fish until it eventually dissipated into the Ohio River, Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet officials said. At one point, the plume was about 23 miles long.
The company wrote in the letter that it did “everything we could to manage the impact to wildlife.” Officials haven’t yet released their estimate on how many fish were killed, but said they were working with Jim Beam owner Beam Suntory on long-term remediation.
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Jim Beam operates 126 barrel warehouses in Kentucky, holding about 3.3 million barrels altogether. The company said the destroyed barrels contained “relatively young whiskey” and the fire will not impact the availability of its products.
FOX Business’ Kathleen Joyce contributed to this report.