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U.S. NEWS Thursday 4 July 2019

Fire destroys Jim Beam warehouse, bourbon flows into river

By BRUCE SCHREINER glow from the inferno could
Associated Press be seen miles away, he
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A said.
fire destroyed a massive Firefighters who withstood
Jim Beam warehouse filled the intense heat were able
with about 45,000 barrels to keep the flames from
of aging bourbon in Ken- spreading to some other
tucky, and state officials nearby storage warehous-
worried that runoff whiskey es, he said.
seeping into nearby water- “It melted lights off some of
ways would kill fish. the firetrucks, it got so hot,”
Firefighters from four coun- Chandler said.
ties responded to the blaze The destroyed warehouse,
that erupted late Tuesday. near the Woodford-Frank-
It sent flames shooting into lin county line, was about
the night sky and generat- 100 yards (91 meters) from
ed so much heat that fire- Glenns Creek, a tributary of
truck lights melted. the Kentucky River, he said.
Lightning might have been Existing containment berms
a factor, but fire investiga- were reinforced with sand
tors haven’t been able to to try to prevent runoff into
start looking for the cause, the creek, he said.
Woodford County Emer- Beam Suntory officials said
gency Management Direc- Bourbon mixes with water in the Kentucky River, Wednesday, July 3, 2019, following an overnight the distiller has a “compre-
tor Drew Chandler said. fire at a Jim Beam distillery in Woodford County, Ky. hensive” warehouse safety
The warehouse was a to- Associated Press program that includes reg-
tal loss. Looking to reassure The distiller hired an emer- foaming and an odor. that eventually turns into ular inspections and “rigor-
consumers of Jim Beam gency cleanup crew and Beam Suntory officials said around 150 to 200 750 mil- ous protocols” to promote
bourbon, Beam Suntory in- state environmental of- they are working with au- liliter bottles, the Courier safety. The distiller said it
dicated it amounted to a ficials were coordinating thorities to assess environ- Journal reported. If all the operates 126 barrel ware-
drop of the iconic brand’s efforts to control bourbon mental effects. barrels held bourbon, that houses in Kentucky that
total aging inventory. runoff into a nearby creek The distilling company would be a loss of at least 6 hold about 3.3 million bar-
No injuries were reported, that flows into the Kentucky said the multi-story ware- million bottles, the Louisville rels for its brands.
Chandler said. The fire River, said John Mura, a house that burned con- newspaper reported. The Beam fire was the latest
was contained but was al- spokesman for the Ken- tained “relatively young The distiller said it was grate- warehouse loss suffered by
lowed to burn until midday tucky Energy and Environ- whiskey,” meaning it had ful to the “courageous a Kentucky distiller.
Wednesday, he said. ment Cabinet. not reached maturity for firefighters” who brought Last month, a storm caused
“The longer it burns, the “We do know there has bottling for consumers. the blaze under control the partial collapse of a
more of the distilled spirits been runoff enter the Bourbon acquires its color and kept it from spread- warehouse at O.Z. Tyler
burn with it,” he said in a creek,” Mura said. “And it and flavor while aging for ing. A second warehouse Distillery in Owensboro. The
phone interview. “So when has made its way into the years in charred new oak sustained minor exterior painstaking process of re-
they go to put it out, there Kentucky River.” barrels.”Given the age of damage but its contents covering barrels is continu-
will be less contaminated The runoff could have a the lost whiskey, this fire will remained intact, the com- ing as part of the distiller’s
runoff that goes into a “serious impact on aquat- not impact the availability pany said. overall plan that included
drinking-water tributary.” ic life,” he said. Runoff is of Jim Beam for consum- Jim Beam is the world’s taking down the entire
By Wednesday afternoon, expected to create “low ers,” the spirits company best-selling bourbon brand. structure.
firefighters were dousing dissolved oxygen levels,” said in a statement. The classic American whis- Another Kentucky bour-
the warehouse’s charred which could result in sub- The destroyed whiskey key brand is owned by Sun- bon barrel warehouse col-
remains with water to try to stantial fish kills, the agency amounted to about 1% of tory Holdings Ltd., a Japa- lapsed last year. Half of a
extinguish the fire, Chan- said in a release. Beam’s bourbon inventory, nese beverage company. warehouse collapsed at
dler said. As they kept work- State officials warned rec- it said. Authorities were alerted the Barton 1792 Distillery
ing, the focus turned to the reational users on the Ken- One standard bourbon about the fire shortly after in Bardstown in June 2018,
environmental impact of tucky River that runoff will barrel usually holds about 11:35 p.m. EDT Tuesday, and the other half came
the leaking bourbon. result in water discoloration, 53 gallons of bourbon Chandler said. The orange down two weeks later.q