Fire at GE Warehouse in Kentucky Halts Production, Cause Unknown

The cause of a fire that ignited at a warehouse at General Electric’s Appliance Park in Louisville, Ky., on Friday could take weeks to uncover.

The Courier-Journal reports the blaze was first spotted around 6 a.m. As it grew, plumes of black smoke could be seen for miles away, and a shelter-in-place order was issued for more than 17,000 homes and businesses.

Despite the enormity of the blaze, no one was injured. Only a skeletal staff was at the property because of the Good Friday holiday.

Although the fire was put out by 2 p.m. Friday, fire fighters stayed on the scene on Saturday in case of flare-ups. Fire and arson investigators said it could be days before they can even venture into the wreckage.

It’s uncertain how quickly production of dishwashers, refrigerators, washers, dryers and water heaters will return to normal after the destruction of the wiring harnesses, fans and other small appliance parts contained in the warehouse.

About 3,000 GE production employees were told to stay home for at least the next week.

GE spokewoman Kim Freeman said in a statement that executives are working to open warehouse space in other areas of the park.

GE builds its high-end bottom-freezer refrigerator at Appliance Park. It’s also launching production of a new Keurig combination coffeemaker and fridge there. But the future of the park is in question following the announcement last fall that GE would sell its appliance division to Swedish appliance maker Electrolux. The $3.3 billion deal is due to close later this year.

The destroyed warehouse also contained offices and work space for Derby Industries, a private supplier which handles packaging and logistics. Company president Diana Herold would only say they were meeting with the employees who worked in the building.