About 100 workers were scattered across the floors of the Muhammad Ali Center Wednesday, repairing the HVAC system and deep cleaning carpets and walls.
The Ali Center has been closed since Sept. 18 after a fire broke out in the connected parking garage.
Louisville Fire Department crews found tiles stored on the second floor of the parking structure had caught fire. The fire itself didn’t extend into the building, but connected ventilation systems caused significant smoke damage.
“This is unprecedented,” said Ali Center spokesperson Annie Moore. “There's never been an incident like this in the Center's 19 years.”
She didn’t give a figure on how much it would cost to repair the damage, but gave an idea of what would be considered in that figure.
“We had extensive HVAC damage, we had smoke in the building, we had a loss of businesses for the days we were closed, we had some of the tiles on the side of the building…extra of those that were stored where the fire was so those were destroyed and will have to be replaced,” Moore said.
Additionally, Moore said smoke damage ruined merchandise in the gift shop.
Moore said artifacts in the center were unaffected because they have a separate HVAC system than the rest of the building. However, some exhibit areas and offices were left with extensive smoke damage.
“All of our emergency systems worked exactly how they were supposed to, and we're so, so grateful to the first responders and all of the crews who showed up and helped contain the fire and make sure it wasn't worse than it was,” Moore said.
The weekend following the fire, the Ali Center was scheduled to have a community-free day. Moore said they are postponing the event until the center reopens.
It's with heavy hearts we share this weekend's community free day has been postponed. Work continues at the Center to clean it and prepare for visitors. We will share the new date as soon as possible. We can't wait to open our doors back to the community. https://t.co/qwAz8vIrMK
— Muhammad Ali Center (@AliCenter) September 24, 2024
There were also several private events, including one on the day of the fire, that had to move venues.
“Our community partners in the event venues downtown have been amazing,” Moore said. “Lots of event venues around downtown have helped these events relocate and really facilitate that.”
She didn’t provide a timeline on how long the cleanup and repair would take.
“We have an industrial hygienist who will be back on site today [Sept. 25] doing another set of samples on our fourth, fifth and sixth floors,” Moore said. “Once we get those results back, we'll know more, but it will at least be several more days.”
Moore said she hopes the Ali Center gets an all clear from maintenance workers by Sept. 28 and can reopen soon after.
