A distillery is a flammable liquid manufacturing facility that most people think of as a food and beverage operation. Ethanol has a flash point around 55 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it a Class IB flammable liquid under NFPA 30, in the same classification bracket as gasoline. Distillation concentrates it deliberately, and the process produces vapor at the still, the spirit safe, the collection vessels, and every transfer point in between.
The barrel warehouse is where the severity concentrates. A rickhouse holds thousands of gallons of high-proof spirit inside wooden containers, stacked, in a building that is frequently designed for ventilation rather than fire containment. Evaporation through the barrel wood, the portion the industry calls the angel’s share, means the atmosphere carries ethanol vapor continuously. In a fire, barrels fail and release burning liquid, which then involves the barrels below and around them. The result is a cascading event that has repeatedly proved beyond the capacity of the protection installed.
Breweries carry a different and smaller version of the same problem plus one the distillery may not have. Grain receiving, milling, and handling generate combustible dust, which puts NFPA 61 in scope at the mill and the grain handling system. Fermentation generates carbon dioxide in quantities that present a genuine asphyxiation hazard in cellars and tank rooms, which is a life safety issue rather than a fire one but belongs in the same hazard assessment because it governs how anyone can enter the space during an emergency.