LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Emergency management crews cleaned up the damage Wednesday after a chemical plant explosion it left two people dead and several others injured.

The explosion occurred Tuesday afternoon at the Givaudan Sense Color facility in Louisville’s Clifton neighborhood. While several nearby homes and businesses were damaged, Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill confirmed that investigators have yet to find any evidence that hazardous chemicals were released.

Mayor Craig Greenberg said a dozen people were taken to the hospital, including one person who died. A second person who died was found in the building just after midnight.

At a news conference Wednesday morning, Greenberg held a moment of silence for the two people who were killed. Neither person has been publicly identified out of respect for their families.

Stefanie Lauber, head of corporate communications for Givaudan Sense Color, told The Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the two people killed were employees. Lauber said the company is “deeply saddened” by what happened.

There is no immediate threat to the surrounding community, she added, and Givaudan is investigating and cooperating with authorities.

“This is an incredibly sad and tragic incident,” Greenberg said at the news conference. “These two individuals who passed were going to work on an ordinary day to support their families when the unthinkable happened.”

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What happened when the factory exploded?

The blast occurred shortly after 3pm local time on Tuesday and could be heard miles away. Firefighters were on the scene about three minutes later, O’Neill said Wednesday.

Metro Louisville Emergency Services Executive Director Jody Meiman said about 300 911 calls were received, about triple the amount the city would receive during that time on a normal day. A shelter-in-place order for a one-mile radius was in effect for about an hour after the blast, but was then lifted.

“This was a deal we’re familiar with,” O’Neill said. “Our companies do a very good job of inspecting the first alarm area. They know what’s there. So we knew right away that we were dealing with not only a fire, but a structural collapse, and also a hazardous materials incident.”

Still, he said, responding to such a scene after an explosion is “extraordinarily difficult.” Firefighters helped evacuate several people at the scene, including a partially buried victim. The cause of the explosion has not yet been identified, he said, but should be determined during the investigation.

Dr. Jason Smith, the chief medical officer at the University of Louisville Hospital, said doctors who treated the victims encountered a “spectrum of injuries” consistent with an explosion, including blast injuries, thermal injuries and lacerations. from falling debris.

Initially, all employees were believed to have been accounted for shortly after the explosion, Greenberg said. But O’Neill said later in the evening that it had become clear that one person had not been found. Firefighters continued their search, he said, and found the second fatally wounded victim “in an area in the center of the rubble” just after midnight.

“This is a discipline that has to move very slowly because of the potential for a secondary collapse,” he said.

“I heard and felt it in the ground”

Clifton resident Arthur Smith was walking down Spring Street, about half a mile from the facility, when the blast rocked the town.

“I heard it and I felt it in the ground,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “I tell you what, it got your attention.”

Karen Roberts, assistant community director at Axis in nearby Lexington, was showing an apartment to a potential tenant when she heard the explosion.

Tenants at the 300-unit complex along nearby Lexington Road rushed to their balconies to see what happened, she said. The apartments lost power for about 10 seconds, briefly locking out some residents.

“It was so cool. I couldn’t believe it,” she said after fielding calls in her office as police rushed to the scene a few blocks away. “… You can almost see the plant on the back windows of some.”

The owners of Witches Brew Coffee, which opened on Frankfort Avenue in late August, shared a video from inside their business at the time of the explosion. The explosion changed the artwork that hangs on the cafe’s walls.

Witches Brew Coffee suffered no exterior damage, although other businesses were not as fortunate. Several Frankfort Avenue businesses closed Tuesday afternoon after their windows were broken, including Beckman Fitness and Quills Coffee.

O’Neill did not have an initial count of how many homes or businesses were damaged.

Some homes may still have debris in the yard, Greenberg said. He urged residents to refrain from removing debris or touching the damage, instead calling MetroSafe to assist investigators. Homeowners with homes that were damaged should also contact their insurance companies, he said.

“We hear neighbors’ concerns loud and clear”

Jacob Hayden, a Payne Street resident, questioned the wisdom of allowing a plant to operate in a densely populated area, noting that a similar incident occurred at the same plant about 21 years ago.

“There shouldn’t be a factory in a residential area if you ask me. Not at all,” Hayden said. “It has to be a long look at the company.”

The previous explosion took place in April 2003killing a worker and triggering a “massive release of aquatic ammonia,” The Courier Journal reported. The plant was operated by DD Williamson & Co. at the time of the explosion, which was later found to have been caused by an overpressurized fuel tank. It reopened later that year and has since been bought by Givaudan.

Givaudan, which makes food coloring, was issued two citations last year by the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District — one for failing to file annual reports and to monitor and record equipment intervals, and another for failing to file excess emissions notices as required . through district regulations. Both cases were settled with the district for a combined $7,500.

Greenberg said he has heard concerns from neighbors about the plant and they will be addressed after emergency response efforts are complete.

“Today is not the day to have those conversations with the company. We are focusing on the victims and their families, finding out what happened (and) offering support to all the families of the victims,” ​​he said Wednesday. “But we hear the neighbors’ concerns loud and clear and that will certainly be something on our minds as we talk about the future.”

Representatives from Givaudan were invited to Wednesday’s news conference but did not attend, Greenberg added.

“Our priority at this time is our team members, the families of those we lost and those who were injured in this accident,” Lauber said in an email Wednesday. “We are in touch with them and are committed to supporting them in the coming days and weeks.”

Reporters Leo Bertucci and Connor Giffin contributed to this article. Contact The Courier Journal’s news team at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on the Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville chemical plant explosion leaves 2 dead: ‘Sad and tragic’