Less than two weeks after a partial collapse of Warehouse 30 at the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, the remainder of the warehouse collapsed on Wednesday.
As a result of the first collapse on June 22, the Barton 1792 Distillery team had equipment on-site to address any further problems from the debris from the initial collapse, or from the structure that remained standing, according to a statement from the company. Company officials said no runoff from Wednesday’s collapse entered waterways.
The distiller was fined by the EPA after the earlier collapse after a multitude of fish were killed in a nearby body of water. Fish were also seen dead, floating on the Ohio River near Brandenburg soon after the collapse.
A company statement said the remaining half of the warehouse still standing after the initial collapse was unable to be secured due to worker safety concerns. Warehouse 30 held approximately 18,000 barrels in total. It is unknown at this time how many barrels can be salvaged.
Officials expect it to be weeks before the root cause of the collapse is determined. Plans are underway to construct a new warehouse to store the recovered barrels.
The remaining barrel warehouses at Barton 1792 Distillery have been inspected by third party experts and are deemed safe, according to the company.
Barton 1792 Distillery is part of Barton Brands, which, in addition to the Bardstown location, has facilities in Carson, California and Baltimore, Maryland. Barton Brands is owned by the Sazerac Company, a family-owned company based in New Orleans, Louisiana.
(Both photos courtesy of Bardstown Fire Chief Billy Mattingly)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
