Yuengling Fire Does $1 Million In Damages
Nobody was killed when a massive fire broke out at a Yuengling brewery in Tampa, Fla., last night, but the fire is estimated to have done $1 million worth of damage to the building.
The fire broke out Saturday night, and sixty firefighters responded to fight the two-alarm fire that burned an enormous hole into the outside wall of the facility, according to UPI.
Initially the fire seemed even worse than it was, because to onlookers outside it looked like the entire five-story building was on fire. In fact the fire only burned the outside wall and spread up to the top of the façade.
"The fire looked a lot worse than it really was," said plant manager Jim Helmke.
All the Yuengling employees were safely evacuated when the fire started and none were injured. One firefighter is reported to have been injured during the fire and was hospitalized, but the injury was described as slight. Helmke said the brewery would be operating as usual on Monday, even though there's a million-dollar hole in the building.
"It will be business as usual on Monday morning," he said. "We are very fortunate. It does look bad. There is a gaping hole and charred remains, but there is no internal damage, except for the hole in the wall. ... it's nothing we can't work around and continue to make beer. Fires are bad, but this could have been far, far, far worse."