Several Louisville firefighters injured while battling warehouse blaze on River Park Drive
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A large plume of smoke was visible for miles in the Louisville area Tuesday evening as crews battled a warehouse fire on River Park Drive.
The Louisville Fire Department said around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday that multiple crews were battling the fire at a vacant commercial warehouse in the 3000 block of River Park Drive, urging residents to "avoid the area."
Maj. Bobby Cooper, spokesman for the fire department, later said the fire started close to 8 p.m. inside of the vacant building and that roughly 100 firefighters responded as the blaze spread. One firefighter was injured after he was shocked as power lines came down during the incident, Cooper said, adding he was receiving treatment at a hospital and expected to be fine.
Cooper said in a statement later that three firefighters were injured while working on the fire and were transported to local hospitals.
Investigators determined that the cause of the fire was intentional, according to witness recounts and surveillance videos, Cooper said in a statement Wednesday night.
In the statement, Cooper said a juvenile had been arrested in connection with the file. He said the person would be charged with arson, meaning they intentionally set fire to a structure and caused firefighters to be injured.
Firefighters were able to control the fire within an hour, Cooper said, but they encountered some challenges while trying to do so, including the size of the building, which is 40,000 square feet, the contents that were in the building and heavy volume of fire.
Cooper said the building was completely lost to the fire and that two structures to the east of the main building sustained significant damage. The American Red Cross is offering assistance to displaced residents, he added.
He said arson investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.
Multiple LFD crews are currently on the scene of a warehouse fire in the 3000 Block of River Park Drive. Please avoid the area.@WHAS11 @WLKY @WDRBNews @wave3news @840WHAS @courierjournal @SpectrumNews1KY pic.twitter.com/9wpQoYoYeQ
— Louisville Fire Dept (@loukyfire) July 6, 2022
WDRB News Alert: Louisville Fire is battling a massive blaze in the west end. It's in the 3000 block of River Park Drive. Black smoke can be seen for miles. Here's a look from our camera in the Knobs. We're working to get details. pic.twitter.com/yzqhfp2rvj
— Rod Hissong (@RodHissong) July 6, 2022
LG&E reported over 100 customers in the area of River Park Drive were without power as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, with many having electricity restored by Wednesday morning.
Reporter Ana Alvarez contributed. Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville firefighters battle warehouse fire in Russell neighborhood
