Massive fire ignites at Jim Beam warehouse in Woodford County

WOODFORD COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) –  Several fire crews were called in to fight a fire at the Jim Beam facility in Woodford County.

That fire started around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.

According to Woodford County Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler, when crews arrived on scene, two barrel warehouses at the Jim Beam aging facility were fully engulfed.

He says the cause of this fire could have been from lightning, but that has not been confirmed.

Chandler says Woodford County Fire crews were assisted by Versailles Fire, Frankfort Fire, Franklin County Fire, and Winchester Fire.

He says the Kentucky Environmental Protection Cabinet and the American Red Cross will be on scene to assist all crews with the efforts.

Chandler says a local business, Woodford Feed, provided crews with sand to help contain the fire.

Jim Beam released a statement on the fire Wednesday:

[su_quote cite=”Jim Beam “]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. We have a comprehensive warehouse safety program that includes regular inspections and rigorous protocols to promote safety and the security of our aging inventory. We operate 126 barrel warehouses in Kentucky that hold approximately 3.3 million barrels for our brands, and the warehouse that was destroyed contained 45,000 barrels of relatively young whiskey from the Jim Beam mash bill. Given the age of the lost whiskey, this fire will not impact the availability of Jim Beam for consumers. We appreciate the support of our neighbors and the Kentucky Bourbon community as we manage through this incident. [/su_quote]