Thankfully, nobody was injured.
A Jim Beam warehouse in Versailles, Kentucky has caught fire. At the time, firefighters struggled to contain the massive blaze, partly because of the levels of alcohol and wood in the debris.
The warehouse caught fire around 11.30pm on Tuesday, 2 July. A second warehouse also caught fire but that blaze was controlled.
CNN have reported that forty firefighters from five counties helped in the response.
No injuries have been reported in the fire or the response.
The warehouse where the fire started has collapsed and in the process, approximately 40,000 barrels of spirits were destroyed.
Authorities said one of the rickhouses – where barrels of bourbon are stored as they age – initially caught fire before spreading to the other nearby structure.
Police Lt. Michael Fortney said there was lightning in the area Tuesday night and it’s possible that it could have sparked the flames.
Beam Suntory, the parent company of Jim Beam, have released the following statement: “We are thankful that no one was injured in this incident, and we are grateful to the courageous firefighters from multiple jurisdictions who brought the fire under control and prevented it from spreading. Initial reports suggest the fire resulted from a lightning strike, and we will work with local authorities to confirm the cause and to remediate the impacts.”
— Beam Suntory (@beamsuntory) July 3, 2019
8+ hours later, the fire continues to burn at this Jim Beam property in Woodford County. Emergency Management officials tell me they expect it to last for several more hours. @LEX18News pic.twitter.com/RHqJrQ36xd
— Alex Valverde (@AlexValverdeTV) July 3, 2019
We just got this video out of Kentucky.
Firefighters battling a huge fire at a Jim Beam Bourbon warehouse pic.twitter.com/1gptiQZHjB— Todd Kurtz (@ToddKOAT) July 3, 2019
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