Jody Meiman, director of Emergency Management Services in Louisville, said his team received about 300 calls in the 30-minute period surrounding the deadly explosion. (Screenshot)
LOUISVILLE – Firefighters in Louisville pulled a victim from the rubble of an industrial explosion just after midnight Wednesday night.
Another died at UofL Hospital after being injured in the afternoon explosion Givaudan Sense colora factory on Payne Street in Louisville’s Clifton neighborhood.
“These two deceased individuals were going to work on an ordinary day to care for their families when the unthinkable happened,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a speech. Wednesday morning press conference.
In addition to the two deaths, eleven were injured. Dr. Jason Smith, the chief medical officer at UofL Hospital, said the injuries his team saw included blast and thermal injuries, as well as injuries from falling debris. Three patients were discharged Wednesday morning, Smith said.
“We took additional steps for (the) decontamination process given the location, the chemicals involved and the unknown nature of what came in,” Smith said. “All patients underwent decontamination procedures prior to entering the hospital and subsequently demonstrated no significant effects from any form of exposure as of this morning when we re-evaluated them.”
While crews work on site, people living near the plant should not touch or attempt to remove debris on their property, according to Greenberg. Instead, he said, call and report it to Metro Safe at 502-574-2117.
“It will be incredibly helpful for all investigators to get a handle on all the debris as they figure out what happened yesterday,” Greenberg said.
WHAS11 reports the plant is known for producing caramel color in soft drinks.
Louisville Fire Department Chief Brian O’Neill praised firefighters who searched the rubble until everyone was found and pulled out the last known victim overnight.
“There was tremendous trauma to this victim and it was completely untenable in the area where he was found,” O’Neill said. “But … to show dignity to the family and to the victim, in the middle of this collapse they still went to a very … dangerous situation to retrieve that victim.”
What is known about the explosion
O’Neill said “several” 911 calls came in about the explosion around 3 p.m. Tuesday. Jody Meiman, the director of Emergency Management Services, said his team received about 300 calls within the 30-minute period surrounding the explosion, three times the normal number.
Fire crews arrived on the scene within “approximately three and a half minutes” and “found an area that had clearly experienced a massive explosion.”
“We knew immediately that we were not only dealing with a fire, but also a structural collapse and also a hazardous materials incident,” O’Neill said. “These are three disciplines that we all train in, so they were prepared for that. But you have to understand that it makes things extremely difficult.”
In addition to the injuries, Meiman said, there were “massive” power outages and that power had been restored by Wednesday morning, with the exception of the explosion site itself.
First responders issued an on-scene warning for people within a mile of the explosion, evacuating those within a block and a half.
The evacuations were “mainly because they were unable to shelter in place because their windows were broken as a result of the explosion,” Meiman said.
Tuesday’s explosion is the second at the site. The first was in 2003, but Tuesday’s blast is not related to the previous one. “That had to do with a solid anhydrous ammonia that is no longer on site, which was not addressed here,” O’Neill said. “Our inspections of that plant over the past several years have revealed no other issues.”
What is not known about the explosion
The emergency services do not yet know what the cause of the explosion is. Multiple agencies will coordinate an investigation to answer that question, they said Wednesday.
Shawn Morrow, the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Louisville Field Division for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), said ATF officials will serve in a supporting role during the investigation, working to to determine the cause of the explosion.
“We have no reason to believe there is any nefarious activity at this time,” Morrow said. “But again, we want to make sure we do a thorough investigation and find out what the actual cause was.”
