Jim Beam warehouse in Kentucky goes up in flames
A fire has destroyed a massive Jim Beam warehouse in the US, sending flames shooting into the night sky and melting a fire truck with the intense heat.
The Kentucky warehouse was filled with about 45,000 barrels of bourbon and the blaze was so intense, firefighters from four counties responded to calls late on Tuesday.
Lightning might have been a factor, but fire investigators haven't been able to start looking for the cause, Woodford County Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler said.
An intense blaze at a Jim Beam warehouse in Kentucky has sent flames flying into the night sky. KYTV
The scene of a bourbon warehouse fire at a Jim Beam distillery in Woodford County, Kentucky. PA/AAP
No injuries were reported, Chandler said. The fire was contained but was being allowed to burn for several more hours yesterday, he said.
"The longer it burns, the more of the distilled spirits burn with it," he said in a phone interview. "So when they go to put it out, there will be less contaminated runoff that goes into a drinking-water tributary."
Company officials said they are working with authorities to assess environmental effects.
"We do know there has been runoff enter the creek," John Mura, a spokesman for the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet said.
"And it has made its way into the Kentucky River."
The runoff could have a "serious impact on aquatic life", he said.
Firefighters let the blaze at a Kentucky Jim Beam plant burn through to the next day to minimise alcohol run off in nearby waterways. PA/AAP
Runoff is expected to create "low dissolved oxygen levels", which could result in substantial fish kills, the agency said in a release.
The distiller said it was grateful to the "courageous firefighters" who brought the blaze under control and kept it from spreading.
A second warehouse sustained minor exterior damage, but its contents remained intact, the company said.
The destroyed whiskey amounted to about one per cent of Beam's bourbon inventory, it said.
Jim Beam is the world's largest bourbon brand. The classic American whiskey brand is owned by Suntory Holdings, a Japanese beverage company.
Firefighters from four counties responded to the blaze that erupted late Tuesday. AP/AAP
Authorities were alerted of the fire shortly after 11.35pm local time on Tuesday, Chandler said.
The orange glow from the inferno could be seen miles away, he said.
Firefighters who withstood the intense heat were able to keep the fire from spreading to some other nearby storage warehouses, he said.
"It melted lights off some of the fire trucks, it got so hot," Chandler said.
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