Louisville News – A person died following an explosion at a Shively plant over the weekend.
The Louisville and Shively fire departments responded to a fire alarm at AAK Inc., located in the 2500 block of 7th Street Road, at 12:39 p.m. Sunday, Shively Fire Chief Charles Mucker said.
When crews arrived, they saw no visible fire, but plant employees directed them to the area where the explosion occurred during a hydrogen tank conversion process.
“They use a lot of hydrogen to convert their oils into usable products, and the explosion was in dealing with the hydrogen,” Chief Mucker told WDRB News.
Shively Fire Chief Charles Mucker said firefighters found one person dead from the explosion and confirmed that the fire remained outside the building.
AAK, according to its website, produces plant-based oils and fats.
On Monday, company officials released a statement:
We are deeply saddened to confirm that an incident occurred at AAK’s Louisville facility in Kentucky on Sunday, September 21, 2025. Tragically, one of our colleagues lost their life. Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and colleagues affected by this loss.
Emergency services responded immediately, and we are cooperating fully with the authorities in their investigation. As a precaution, operations in the relevant part of the plant have been shut down. Safety is AAK’s top priority.
We are committed to understanding what happened and taking all necessary steps to ensure such an incident does not occur again.
This is not the first time emergency crews have been called to AAK. In December of last year, Shively firefighters responded to flames at the plant.
“I made that fire as well,” Mucker said. “It was on the exterior of the structure, and it was a cooking-grade oil that was burning.”
A few months later, in February, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted an inspection at AAK. Records show OSHA found no violations.
“It can be scary sometimes,” said Linett Brown, who works across the street and has endured strong odors from the plant. She says she has seen emergency crews respond to AAK multiple times.
“I have experienced fire trucks going back and forth because of an issue with the company here,” Brown said. “Something needs to be addressed very soon because I don’t like living like this. I know the people around here don’t like living like this. Something has to be done about it.”
Her colleague, Aleena Adams, added, “It’s really sad because I think it’s been brought to the attention of them for a really, really long time that they need to do something. The fact that somebody did pass away is absolutely terrible.”
The investigation is being handled by Louisville Metro Arson.
Leave a Comment