Yuengling Brewery Fire Caused By Welder? [Video]

The Yuengling Brewery fire has had many wondering what the cause of fire was.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the Yuengling Brewery fire caused over $1 million in damage but could have been far, far worse.

The Yuengling Brewery fire may have looked horrible, with flames leaping from the roof and 60 firefighers dispatched, but in actuality most of the damage from the fire was confined to walls and ceilings. The fact that the Yuengling Brewery fire wasn’t so bad was established by the beer company starting to make shipments again even though it’s only been a day since the ashes cooled down.

Jim Helmke, Yuengling’s director of operations in Tampa, says they were very fortunate during the Yuengling Brewery fire:

“The fire itself was very dramatic and very frightening. But none of the beer, none of the product was jeopardized at all. Nothing will prevent us from operating normally. Nobody here will lose an hour of work over this. It could have been much worse. We’re very fortunate.”

Yuengling Brewery is speculating on the cause of fire, saying they believe the Yuengling Brewery fire may have been triggered by a welder working on an old fire escape. The welder allegedly triggered the fire by heating 50-year-old timber beams in the walls. The beams began to smolder unnoticed hours after the welder began and then suddenly burst into flame.

Fortunately, no one was killed during the Yuengling Brewery fire. Two Yuengling Brewery employees were in the building when the fire began but they escaped uninjured. One firefighter apparently slipped and injured his knee, but he’s already been released from the hospital.

[Yuengling Brewery Fire Image via Tampa Fire Rescue]