By Dalton Main and Travis Ragsdale

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Antiquated water systems, adverse weather and a reduced staff are to blame for the spread of a fire that destroyed building 6 at GE Appliance Park, according to a report from the Louisville Fire Department.

The cause of the fire that tore through GE’s building in March is officially “undetermined” and a number of issues on site contributed to the delay in extinguishing the fire, according to a summary of the investigation results.

The report lists several possible causes -- including light failures, careless smoking and an intentionally set fire -- which have been ruled out, but other possible causes like lightning or roof leaks hitting electrical equipment could not be confirmed as the source.

Major Henry Ott with Louisville Fire and Rescue says of the eight pumps GE has to supply water on site, seven of those failed on the day of the fire.

It also says that the two closest fire hydrants to the fire were broken, which Ott says are maintained by GE.

Ott says the exterior sprinkler system gongs were inspected a year ago and found to be in good condition, however hose gongs didn't sound on the day of the fire which Ott says indicates that water was not flowing to the sprinklers.

According to the report, employees who witnessed the fire gave mixed reports as to whether a sprinkler system was working and how effective it was.

The fire department says it notified General Electric of hazards during an inspection of the sprinkler systems in 2013 and 2014 and advised the company to reevaluate the system, based on how the building was being used.

“An important point of contention is if the 1967 sprinkler system worked as it was designed,” the report explains.

Because it was Good Friday, the report says there was a reduced staff on site and it points to a single employee who needed to man two stations located a mile apart leading to a delay in sending water to the source of the fire.

Due to issues with the age of the system and the procedures needed to pump water to the site, “the water needed by firefighters to extinguish the fire would not be available on property.”

The report says crews would also need to go off property to get water and “flooding blocked or delayed their routes in two locations.”

But GE is disputing some of the findings in the report.

Spokesperson Kim Freeman says system tests and witness reports show that sprinklers were working and activated when the fire broke out.

In a statement Freeman said, "System tests and witness reports showed that the AP6 sprinklers were in proper working order and activated at the time of the fire."

The statement from GE went on to say that the report had "several key factual errors" as well. It also said there was nothing that could have been done that could have saved the building.

GE says in 2011 it began a major safety project that included sprinklers, alarms and a new pumping system but was still in progress on the day of the fire.

The report says the total loss for GE is greater than $50 million and the loss for Derby Industries is $50-60 million.

You can read the summary of the report here.

GE released this timeline of the fire: 

6:49 a.m.: Fire was first spotted by Derby Industries employee.

6:50 a.m.: Call to 911 to report the fire.

6:51 a.m.: Fire photographed by 2nd Derby Industries employee’s smart phone.

6:53 a.m.: Water sprinklers in operation and audible on 3rd Derby Industries smart phone video. 

6:58 a.m.: Security personnel reports seeing sprinklers in operation. This is confirmed by time stamp on his cell phone photo.

6:59 a.m.: The first fire companies started arriving on the scene. Fire Major reports seeing fire coming out of the roof two minutes after arriving.

Next Six Minutes:

7:02 a.m.– 7:08 a.m.: Firefighters Enter Building and Evacuate Due to Intensity of Fire

7:02. a.m.: Firefighters enter building, with fire raging out of control as visible on helmet-cam video.

7:04 a.m.: Firefighter uses 2 1/2 “ hose, water reaches ceiling and truss along South wall. Water stream reaches top of 25’ double-stacked boxes, indicating ample water and water pressure.

7:08 a.m.: Firefighters evacuate the building due to the intensity of the fire turning their attention to preventing it from reaching production buildings.

Approximately 30 minutes after the 911 call:

7:18 a.m.:  South wall collapses, breaking sprinkler heads, sending thousands of gallons of water to the floor instead of to the sprinklers and pumps.

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