A week after one half of a massive, 1940s-era rickhouse collapsed at Barton 1792 Distillery, the rest of the structure has fallen down.
Nobody was injured, the company says in a press release. No one was inside Warehouse 30 when it completely collapsed.
The Sazerac-owned distillery was not able to secure the second half of the warehouse that had remained standing due to worker safety concerns.
Warehouse 30 held approximately 18,000 barrels in total. Currently it is unknown how many barrels can be salvaged.
Officials expect it to be weeks before the root cause is determined. Plans are already underway to construct a new warehouse to store the recovered barrels at the distillery.
After the initial damage, the Barton 1792 Distillery team was ready with equipment onsite to address further problems from the debris from the first collapse or from the structure that remained standing. As before, the team worked to contain the spill from the barrels, the company says. As a result, no runoff from the second collapse entered into waterways.
The Distillery team continues to work closely with local fire and police departments. They also immediately notified the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KDEP), who remains onsite providing guidance. The KDEP was also onsite quickly following the first collapse.
The remaining barrel warehouses at Barton 1792 Distillery were inspected after the initial collapse, by third party experts, and were deemed safe. Barrel warehouses at the other two Sazerac owned distilleries in Kentucky have also been inspected and deemed safe.
