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FM Global
Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets 7-74
It provides a great overview of the process and the hazards if you have never been to one.
Below will give you an idea what you are getting into, it is from the FM data sheet
3.0 SUPPORT FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 General
Distilleries are often located in rural districts because large supplies of pure water are needed for process pur- poses. Remoteness from city water supplies and fire departments places the responsibility for fire protec- tion almost entirely on the facility itself. Safety also depends on good construction, and proper arrangement and safeguards for processes.
Because of the fire and explosion hazards inherent in handling large quantities of flammable liquids, safety depends on supervision by well-trained operators, good maintenance and process equipment safeguards.
Grain handling, milling and feed preparation at distilleries present dust explosion hazards. Although grains and feeds are slow burning, fires in these materials may be deep-seated and difficult to extinguish. Wet grains will heat and sour if not dried promptly.
Process fire and explosion hazards are present during distilling, but are considered negligible during mash- ing and fermenting. Strict government regulations which require seals on every pipe joint, valve and spigot reduce the probability of flammable liquid or vapor being released during distilling operations.
Flammable liquid hazards are also present in varying degrees in the various distilled-liquor handling areas. The flash and fire points of alcohol/water mixtures are shown in Figure 1.
Because of ethyl alcohol’s lower heat of combustion, and radiant heat energy, and its complete miscibility with water, lower sprinkler system demands are required than with other flammable liquids of equivalent flashpoint.
3.2 Loss History
A survey2 of distilling industry losses for the years 1933-1981 indicated that approximately 65% of all prop- erty damage resulted from fires in 14 unsprinklered distilled spirits warehouses. However, several serious fire and explosion losses occurred in still-buildings and bottling-houses. All of the serious bottling-house fires also occurred in unsprinklered buildings. The most serious losses in still-buildings involved explosions with ensuing fires where sprinkler systems were damaged by the explosion. Several fires also occurred in driers processing dried grains from spent stillage or slops.
