Mayfield, Q.: The Mayfield Consumer Product Factory was the third largest employer in this corner of western Kentucky, a vital economic engine that churned out the candles that line the shelves of malls around America.
But why its workers were lighting candles as a tornado struck Friday night is unclear as rescue teams scour factory debris for signs of life.
The governor of Kentucky said Sunday the storm was so strong that there was nowhere safe to hide inside the plant.
Most seem to be taking shelter at the site where they were asked to shelter, Gov. Andy Beshear said. “I expected this area to be as safe as it could be, but this thing was directly affected by the fastest tornado we can imagine.
Of the 110 workers on Friday night, Beshear said early Sunday that only 40 had been rescued and it would be a miracle if anyone else was found alive. He said later on Sunday that it could be a better situation than initially feared as the state works to verify a worker headcount provided by the factory.
Some workers said they were told to move closer to the storm in the strongest part of the building, in the central hallway area.
That’s where everyone has to go, said Autumn Kirk, who worked at the plant with her boyfriend, who is still missing. “We stopped everything and tried to take shelter as much as we could.
Kirk said the first weather warning sirens during his shift prompted some workers to leave for the night.
I know there are a lot of workers left. We thought about it but decided against it, she said.
The factory she and her boyfriend worked in in and around Mayfield, the southwest corner of Kentucky, with a population of about 10,000, employed many people. According to the county’s website, it is the third largest employer in Graves County. Even some inmates of the county jail have worked there.
Plant-made scented candles eventually find their way onto the shelves of major retailers such as Bath & Body Works. The Ohio retailer said in a statement that it is devastated by the horrific loss of life at our longtime partner Mayfield Consumer Products Factory.
And it was high season in Mayfield to blow out the gift candles as Christmas approached. Shortly before the disaster, the company posted on Facebook that it was looking to hire more people for 10- to 12-hour shifts that include faster workers and mandatory overtime.
Cathy Lavenier, CEO of Ohio-based Renegade Candle Company, said most US candle makers would have completed their holiday orders by early November, but labor shortages and other economic trends linked to the COVID-19 pandemic forced the crisis into December. Gave. extended to . Board member at the National Candle Association.
LaVanier said candle makers across America are horrified by what happened in Kentucky and are trying to find ways to help. Unlike many manufactured products, most candles sold in the US are American-made, in part thanks to heavy and prolonged tariffs on Chinese-made candles.
We are all drowning in the candle business, she said. It could have been any of us.
LaVanier said regular disaster drills at candle plants are important, particularly to include temporary workers who may have come to fill the surge in demand. But because of the way they’re rarely built with basements, and structured to accommodate long manufacturing lines, it becomes difficult to avoid damage when a truly devastating storm hits.
If we had enough advance notice and realized it was serious enough, you could send people home, she said.
Brianna Travis, 19, and Jared Holmes, 20, stood alert on Saturday near the wreckage of the Mayfield candle factory, where they worked for months, typically around $14.50 an hour. The engaged couple was not working when the storm struck.
I worked with these people. I talked to these people. I tried to build relationships with these people. And I don’t know if a friend of mine is gone, Holmes said.
Holmes said that during his time there had been no exercise at the factory to prepare people in the event of a storm.
He said that since we are there, we don’t have one.
Mayfield Consumer Products executives did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday. The company said in a statement on its website that it has started an emergency fund to help employees and their families. The company was established in 1998 and was spun off from another firm several years ago.
“It’s heartbreaking, and it’s our immediate effort to help those affected by this terrible disaster,” CEO Troy Propps said in a statement. Our company is family owned and some of our employees, who have worked with us for many years, are respected.
The Kentucky State Safety and Health Agency website lists a series of 12 safety breaches at the factory in 2019, though it doesn’t say what they were for.
Beshear told CNN on Sunday that his understanding was that it had an emergency plan.
“We are saddened that most workers consider this the safest place in the facility. But when you see that the storm has hit the entire area, not just there, I don’t believe there was a plan that would work. Can do
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O’Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island. AP writer Bruce Schreiner contributed to this report.
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