Fire Department Checking Out

[Odin]

Shit! i am at my workplace. Doorbel just rang. Fire Department & they want to check out the fire hozes installed in my office. One on each floor. Ehm ... i do most of my homedistilling (office distilling?) on the third floor, next to the fire hoze, that is closed to business or people getting in! Luckily the guy started on the 1st floor, so I could ran upstairs to move all my equipment to another room. I realized: I have a lot of equipment. Maybe I should put some away. I mean 5 distillers? In practice I use only 3. And all those bottles, demi-johns, mason jars, gerber, all bran, sugar, cracked corn ... measuring rods, fermenter buckets, cooling water bucket ... Looks like a narrow escape. Not funny!

[Wim]

Shit! i am at my workplace. Doorbel just rang. Fire Department & they want to check out the fire hozes installed in my office. One on each floor. Ehm ... i do most of my homedistilling (office distilling?) on the third floor, next to the fire hoze, that is closed to business or people getting in! Luckily the guy started on the 1st floor, so I could ran upstairs to move all my equipment to another room. I realized: I have a lot of equipment. Maybe I should put some away. I mean 5 distillers? In practice I use only 3. And all those bottles, demi-johns, mason jars, gerber, all bran, sugar, cracked corn ... measuring rods, fermenter buckets, cooling water bucket ... Looks like a narrow escape. Not funny!

Lucky you to be able to distill at work. When the going gets tough you have a place to relax

(Are you the owner of the company?)

[Odin]

I am the owner!

[hstuurman]

Didn't knew they did this kind of control's
Is it because of your bussiness?

[Odin]

Henk,

To be more specific: it used to be the fire department. Now it is a third party contracter that does these checks. But, these contractes will be checked as well, so the fire department of our city may ring the doorbell anytime to check if the third party did what they are supposed to do.

I am in financial services. Not a real fire hazzard, I would think.

Odin.

[rad14701]

Many municipalities do routine and sometimes random fire inspections, at least here in the US... Same goes for health inspections if you are in a food or beverage service related business, amongst others...

Glad you were able to get things situated, Odin... Nothing like a good wake up call to cause a re-think of your home distilling inventory...

[Bushman]

Moving it is one thing but moving the operation while you are making a run could be very difficult. Good luck and be careful my friend!

[Odin]

Rad, Bushman,

Fortunately I do most of my stilling in the evening or weekend. And yes, this is a great opportunity to rethink my set up. Put that in practise right away. More lean & mean with what is not needed (most of the time): somewhere safe!

Odin.

[blind drunk]

Hey Odin, I had something very similar happen. I was in a run when I heard a very stealth sounding vehicle just outside of my shed. I went around the corner and it was a hydro person that came to read the house meter. My meter is opposite my wall-less shed which is where I run. I casually waved at him and she did not wave back! Shite, I thought, he means business. Then the vehicle drove off. I guess they don't need to leave their cars anymore to read them meters. Point and click. Saved by technology.

[Odin]

Blind Drunk,

It is experiences like that, which make you need a drink!

Odin.

[blind drunk]

Takes a lot less than that, Odin

[mash rookie]

I also keep my equipment and distill where I work. My shop. While not open to the public, I have more people coming and going than I would like to know about my hobby.

For that reason I keep everything discreetly put away and out of site when not in use.
I distill on non business days. Secured against accidental intrusion.

It is difficult enough to keep a low profile. My good friend opened his mouth when we toured the micro distiller the other day. He looked at the tour guide distiller and said my friend here is a distiller too. I quickly corrected him and said “I have a friend that does it for a hobby”

He apologize when we left noting that I would have not said anything about his Pot Habits to a stranger. Many of my friends don’t think it is illegal or that it is no biggie.

All the more reason to keep all equipment broke down and put away out of site.

[ammo man]

"Many of my friends don’t think it is illegal..."

I am amazed at the number of people in my part of the county that think it is legal, and that includes lawmen. The other day a Texas State Game Warden was visiting, a good friend through an organization we both belong. I had a batch of wine about ready to rack on my coffee table, and we started talking about alcohol. I mentioned that I had distilled in the past even though it was against the law. He started auguring with me that it was NOT against the law. He would not believe me. I finally let it drop. He is a young man, and has a lot to learn. Oh well... .

Bert

[Fastill]

"Many of my friends don’t think it is illegal..."

I am amazed at the number of people in my part of the county that think it is legal, and that includes lawmen. The other day a Texas State Game Warden was visiting, a good friend through an organization we both belong. I had a batch of wine about ready to rack on my coffee table, and we started talking about alcohol. I mentioned that I had distilled in the past even though it was against the law. He started auguring with me that it was NOT against the law. He would not believe me. I finally let it drop. He is a young man, and has a lot to learn. Oh well... .

Bert

It's great to live in a country where the guys breaking the law know more about it than the guys enforcing the laws!

[Glock19Fan]

I know several Law Enforcement Officers who believe that distilling for personal use only is legal. Several of my Army buddies believe the same too.

[rtalbigr]

1984 by George Orwell.

We're past 1984 but his telling novel is coming to pass. Government intrusion into our daily lives will only increase until the concept of privacy will only be a memory in the minds of us "old farts." If you're in the mall, at the grocery, at work, driving on the interstate, some one is watching you. They have satillites circling our orb with cameras that can count the hairs on our heads. Postmen are told to look for suspicous activity, and who is defining what suspicious is?

Don't get me wrong. I'm mostly a live and let live kinda guy. But....Liberty.....Freedom.....those are sacred words, sacred concepts, we can't let government take those from us. If we do we are lost.

Big R

[Odin]

Big R,

On the risk of getting a bit of topic, but sometimes I feel that we are already past the point of "we should not let government take those from us". Now, I live in The Netherlands with a very mild political landscape, but still, the front door (my front door) should be where government stops (or my "government" starts).

Now the concept of checking firehozes is not a bad one. But is it government responsibility? I do not think so. I think the busineses should have good installations against fires and make sure they are audited by a certified company. Not the other way around. And showing up without appointment? Try that in your line of business ...

Odin.

[islandrunner]

Not to long ago the wife melted down a bag of popcorn in the micro wave, You couldnt see the walls in the house, I opened all the window and put up fans, It was all cleared out and then you could hear the fire truck comming , My heart sank, but then it stopped and dont know where it went, nothing to hide but was scared I was going to get hosed down,