LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nearly a week after a UPS cargo plane crash devastated part of south Louisville, Grade Lane remains closed as firefighters and cleanup crews continue working through the wreckage.
Access to the crash site is still highly restricted. Only business owners assessing damage and environmental cleanup teams are permitted beyond the barricades, even as National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) footage circulates publicly.
Okolona Fire Chief Mark Little has spent 36-hour shifts overseeing recovery efforts.
“Yeah, I go home, take a shower, get a few hours of sleep, then come back,” Little said. “I want to be here — for the community, for myself.”
He described the process as methodical and cautious, slowed by the magnitude of the disaster and the presence of hazardous materials.
“Because of the size of the incident and all the chemicals involved,” Little explained. “So yes, we’re moving a little slow — but as fast as we can.”
On the night of the crash, Little never saw the MD-11 aircraft itself. What he did see was an inferno stretching for half a mile.
“The flames went pretty much the whole half mile,” he recalled.
Burning jet fuel ignited nearby oil storage tanks, sending them exploding and falling from the sky.
“And then you’re worried not only that they’ve exploded, but where are they gonna land?” Little said.
Despite the danger, Little and his crew continue returning to the site each day. When Assistant Chief Jeff Carlson made it home to his children and dog after one grueling shift, Little said moments like that capture what keeps them going.
“That makes your day. It makes you happy. And proud,” he said.
For Little, firefighting isn’t just a profession — it’s a calling.
“It’s a part of you,” he said. “It never goes away.”
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