Fire at GE plant contained but will continue burning

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A fire that broke out early Friday at General Electric's Appliance Park here has consumed one building and kept employees from going to work in others, officials said.

Nearly 200 firefighters are working to extinguish the massive blaze. Chunks of ash and debris have been raining down as far away as a mile away, and the column of smoke is visible for miles.

The building has partially collapsed and is a total loss, said Kevin Tyler, chief of the Harrods Creek Fire Department. The fire is under control but is expected to continue to burn through the day.

"We'll be on scene through the night and into tomorrow, I'm sure," he said. Every fire department in Jefferson County — 18 in total — sent firefighters to the scene, about 192 responders, including some off duty who were asked to report.

The fire broke out in Building 6 at the GE industrial park, and the building was quickly evacuated, according to Jody Duncan, an MetroSafe dispatch spokeswoman. All employees are accounted for and safe; it was not immediately known how many workers were in the building when the fire broke out.

People within a half-mile radius of the fire have been asked to shelter in place because of smoke and fumes from plastics that have been burning in the warehouse. At the height of the burning, the area was expanded to 2 miles.

The fire's cause has not been determined.

Production in the industrial park where GE makes washing machines, dryers, dish washers, refrigerators and water heaters has ceased while firefighters battle the blaze, GE spokeswoman Kim Freeman said. Production was to be limited anyway because many employees were off for Good Friday, but workers now will be off through next week so GE can replenish parts stored in Building 6 and evaluate other buildings in the vicinity for damage.

Appliance Park is the 1,000-acre headquarters of GE Consumer & Industrial, GE's appliance division that is expected to become a subsidiary of Swedish appliance manufacturer Electrolux later this year. About 6,000 GE employees work in the industrial park, which has at least 15 buildings.

However, Building 6 has been leased out as a warehouse since GE's air-conditioning operations were sold decades ago. Derby Supply Chain Solutions, which assembles, packages, warehouses and distributes products, also has its logistics operations in the building.

GE said officials there already have identified alternate space for Building 6 warehousing operations so affected employees will be relocated to other offices.

The Louisville area also received 4 inches of rain overnight, flooding many homes and streets and closing Jefferson County's schools. Heavy rainfall is expected to continue periodically throughout the day.

Contributing: Reed Yadon, WHAS-TV, Louisville; Allison Ross and Grace Schneider, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal; and The Associated Press