Fayette County

Bricks fall off ‘Home of Jif’ peanut butter factory in Lexington

Part of the brick veneer on the J.M. Smucker Company building fell off unexpectedly Wednesday, temporarily closing inbound Winchester Road.

About 11:20 a.m., Lexington police and firefighters found part of the factory’s brick exterior had collapsed. Shortly after, more of the brick dropped off the building, causing part of the “J.M. Smucker Company” sign to fall.

The inbound lanes of Winchester Road were temporarily blocked off so that an excavator could get to the scene and take down more of the wall, which was expected to eventually fall, according to Lexington police Lt. Daniel Truex.

The collapse of the veneer didn’t affect the structure’s integrity, according to Jordan Saas, a battalion chief with the Lexington Fire Department. The building itself was still intact.

An excavator removes the rest of a brick wall after part of it fell at the J. M. Smuckers factory on Winchester Road falls in Lexington Ky., Wednesday, February 24, 2021.
An excavator removes the rest of a brick wall after part of it fell at the J. M. Smuckers factory on Winchester Road falls in Lexington Ky., Wednesday, February 24, 2021. Silas Walker Lexington Herald-Leader

No injuries were reported, Saas said.

This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 12:37 PM.

Jeremy Chisenhall
Lexington Herald-Leader
Jeremy Chisenhall covers criminal justice and breaking news for the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com. He joined the paper in 2020, and is originally from Erlanger, Ky.
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