A massive fire erupted Friday morning at General Electric 's Appliance Park in Louisville , Kentucky , shutting down production at the sprawling manufacturing center that employs thousands . The fire broke out in a non-production building , creating huge columns of smoke visible from miles away as 200 firefighters battled the blaze . GE spokeswoman Kim Freeman said there are no known injuries at the structure , Building 6 , where up to 50 people work during a normal day . Production ceased and workers at the facility had been evacuated and sent home , Freeman told Daily Mail Online . Scroll down for video . More than 100 firefighters have been called to fight a six-alarm blaze at General Electric 's Appliance Park in Louisville . There were no known injuries in the fire , which is thought to have started around 7am Friday morning . A GE spokesman said that employees at the Louisville facility , which makes a range of appliances , had been evacuated and sent home . A fire department spokesperson said that building caught on fire contained plastics . Louisville Fire Department spokesman Sal Melendez said that the building made plastic products . The cause of the fire , which began around 7am , is not yet known , according to WDRB . A shelter in place order has been given for the surrounding half-mile area , with officials telling residents to go to the room in their houses with the least windows and to shut off any ventilation from outside . Hydrochloric acid particles were found in the smoke near the building , which authorities said did not house an hazardous materials . A concentration for the particles was not stated . No acid particles were found in the plume of smoke heading downwind . GE makes a range of appliances at the facility , including washing machines , refrigerators and water heaters at its Louisville facility . . The smoke near the building was found to contain hydrochloric acid particles . Up to 50 employees would be in the building during a normal day , though Friday was reportedly a company holiday . Smoke was seen coming from a storage building at the facility , where firefighters were working to contain the blaze in addition to conducting water rescues on Louisville residents evacuating during flooding . Charlie Gold , an employee at a country club directly east of General Electric , told Daily Mail Online that the smoke had originally been heading in his direction before switching and floating west towards the airport . He said that the smoke had a strange smell smell to it , 'not like a camp fire ' . GE makes a range of appliances at the facility , including washing machines , dryers , dish washers , refrigerators and water heaters . An estimated 6,000 employees work at the 1,000-acre center . Melendez said during an 11am press conference that the fire was confined to the building area , but was not yet contained . Residents around the facility were told to stay in a room with the fewest possible windows and shut off ventilation from outside . Pieces of ash ( pictured ) as large as lunch boxes were found in the area and ash was found on planes at Louisville International Airport . The storage building , where 30 to 50 employees normally are during the day , reportedly collapsed around 8.30am . Friday was a company holiday for GE and there was no one inside the building , according to WAVE-TV . The city 's emergency services have been stretched on Friday morning as firefighters have also been rescuing residents from flooded apartments caused by seven inches of rain . It is not known if the flooding played any part in the fire . Kevin Tyler , chief of the Harrods Creek Fire Department , said that all 18 fire departments in the county had sent employees to the blaze , according to the Courier-Journal . Louisville 's zoo has been closed and animals are being kept indoors because of the smoke . Pieces of ash as large as lunch boxes were reported in the area and ash on planes was reported at Louisville International Airport . Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer gave a press conference Friday morning where officials said that hydrochloric acid particles were detected in the smoke near the building , but not in the downwind plume . The building reportedly collapsed at 8.30am . A news report captured live footage of a wall crumpling into the blaze . Firefighters from 18 local departments were called in to the facility . The fire had been been confined to the area around the building but had not yet been contained as of Friday morning . The Louisville Zoo , located northwest of the GE Appliance Park , has been closed to protect its animals from the smoke . Friday was a company holiday for GE and there were no employees inside the building , according to local media . Smoke from the fire was seen billowing into the sky from miles away . The cause of the blaze on Friday morning is not yet known .
No injuries reported in blaze at six-alarm fire at Louisville appliance facility . Cause for fire , which has drawn 200 firefighters Friday morning , unknown . Fire department stretched thin as they also rescue flooded residents . Building , where up to 50 people would normally work , collapsed at 8.30am . Facility makes appliances such as washing machines , dryers and fridges . Acid particles found in smoke near building , but not in downwind plume . Residents near plant told to close windows , shut off ventilation to outside .