The Kinsey Fire Observation Room

[dave ziegler]

Today I parked at my Friends house across from the Plant and got some different Pictures of most area's. I climbed up the front stair well in warehouse N as it was open and went up on the roof to take some Pictures one of which is the Kinsey Fire Obeservation Room sitting atop the fire Escape. Warehouse Q sits at the highest point in the Plant and gave you a view of the whole area to look for fire or other dangerous things.
Pictures are
1. Looking from the Roof of Warehouse N at the Kinsey Fire Observation tower on top of Q warehouse Fire escape. This Warehouse sat on thehighest point in the Plant.
2. Looking toward the front of the Plant from the roof of Warehouse N
3. Large amount of water on the roof of Warehouse N looking across to the tops of the two 1/2 million gal Whiskey storage tanks that stand 44 feet high mid point of the plant.

As I have said many times Kinsey was one of the safest Warehousing and Distilling / Bottling Plants in the world back in the days I worked there.
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Since I posted all my shots from Sunday I thought I would also post a couple of Shots of the outside and inside of the Fire Oberservation Tower on Explosion proof Warehouse Q its fire escape is one of a kind with the special room on top. And this warehouse sits at the High Point of the Plant. One of my Favorite things when this building is open is to climb to the top of the front stair well and walk across the roof to the Fire tower Room and look at all area's of the plant.

Sadly Someone years ago started a fire in the corn Whiskey barrels on the 3rd floor and the fire company in order to put it out knocked a big hole in the wall on th plant front side wall. However even with the fire and the hole in its wall Warehouse Q remains strong and safe! So here are 6 pictures from last winter I never posted of the fire tower including one inside it where it got so hot the glass in the windows melted and ran down the walls. This room even had heating elements to keep it warm for the times Cal Roberts and Harry Martin would go up and look for fire danger in all directions.
Dave Z
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Old Hickory America's Finest Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

I just wanted to post this part on here as it has to do with fire safety. In talking to Paul the Plant Electrian where I work now, He stressed to me how well things were layed out in the bottling House such as groups of different equipment in areas. They were all spaced in a way that protected one area from causing a fire in another area. He said just looking at the pictures I gave him that it was very well engineered to be safe from Fire and well planed in its creation.

After the terrible fire I think 1957 was the yr in the Phila Plant the company wanted to make sure nothing bad like that could ever happen to anything newly built or Old and as I have said before be it the Fire tower mid Plant to working sprinklers in all buildings no matter how old. To the Fire drills at the old buildings every month to the fully equipped Fire truck They did their best to make Kinsey the safest Warehousing of aging spirits, Bottling of Spirits and Distilling of spirits back when DSP-Pa-12 ran.
Dave Z
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Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey For Unhurried Moments

[dave ziegler]

Well Winter is setting in and the weeds are starting to give the Buildings in Kinsey a break.
Here are two shots of the Fire escapes on the warehouses.
1. This is the regular fire escape on Warehouse C look at it and then the next one and you will see how very different the Fire Tower one is!

2. This is warehouse Q its Fire escape is built with the fire observation room on top. This was the perfect place as Warehouse Q as I have said many times is on the highest point of the Plant. It never stops amazing me that they built this on there and being it was built during WWII Who knows what esle it was built to look for as I was just thinking and the little room on top gave you a great view over the roof. However no one will ever look out that room again as the metal grating fell down in the sealed shaft and there is nothing to stand on.
My friend took a shot for me over the big open hole in the room on that day in 2007. I checked the stairwell and that shaft is completly sealed from getting into.

To me it was very interesting that when they built the Explosion proof Warehouses that they put that much thought into it all.

I took these shots on Sunday and the Sun went in just when I shot the Fire tower so it is a little dark but you can really compare them good this way.
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

I was able to make one last trip into the Fire tower and here are some of the shots!
it was a very nice day and I was able to go in and go out one of the little Fire escape doors to climb the tower stairs. I did not want to chance the roof.
1. & 2. Inside the Fire observation room Kids have written junk everywhere now
3. Shot of some of the windows up there and heating element on wall

4. shot of melted glass
5. A tree growing in the room as you goup the fire stairs
6. Looking down the stairs
7. Another shot of Melted glass on the window sill
8. looking at windows
9.10.11.12.13 Shots taken out the window of the view in differant directions
14. An Old pipe valve that turned the heat off and on in the fire tower
still turns off and on after all these years with ease.
The Fire tower escape was the only one that had heat in it
14. Back water tower from Fire room across the roof
15.16.17. Shots of the top of the fire tower from across the Roof from the last time I got pictures a week before
18. Front Warehouse stairwell
19. Shot across roof from Front stairwell
20.Fire tower looking at it from the ground first picture shows hole smashed in by fire company. What happen reconstructing what caused the fire someone went on the third floor lit up some barrels that had some corn whiskey in them and it got so hot it melted the glass opneing windows in the tower room. The Fire company smashed in the wall at the back and put the fire out it has never dryed out and with the roof leaking there are stalagtites on the third floor ceiling. I took some pictures of them and will post them later.

What a sad ending for Warehouse Q the Fire Observation tower One of a kind Building. Yet it still stands strong and nor falling down a tribute to it well build when it was built.
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory
America's most magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

About two weeks ago the last time I was at Kinsey I was amazed going into some buildings how many Fire Extingushers are still there Hundreds of them every where! When it came to the danger Of Fire our Plant had the most protection that was possible during the years it was operating.

Be it our mack Fire truck which routinely was upgraded every couple of years to the fire tower and the large Cummins powered pump down back to bring water up from the river to the back water tank and the inlets out front that brought water to the front water tower.

Cal Roberts and Harry Martin went around every week turning on hydrents and testing them building by building. There were as I have said before fire drills every month and their were men who's job included being ready in case of fire. The Explosion Proof Buildings were all laid out the same distance apart and there were hydrents on all sides of them.

All the Old Buildings had large Fire Mains built into them when Publicker bought Kinsey in 1940 and the fire drills were mostly done near the Old Warehouses and the Still!

In the 94 years Kinsey Exsisted there were never any Fires or Fire damage due to the way Publicker protected the Place.
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Three weeks ago when I was at Kinsey My friends showed me dozens of Fire Extinguisher's they were Old 1986 CO'2 ones and many of them still have charge and work. As I have said many times Protecting from Fires and people getting Hurt was a Large part of our Operating at Kinsey.

In the Years I worked there I never saw any fires and the Plant had its regular monthly drills especialy near the Oldest Buildings. When The Continental Distilling Division of Publicker Industries started working on the Kinsey Distillery They spaced all the buildings the same distance apart all the way around.

They Incropatarted the Rear Fire escapes with their walled of from fire aproach. How they worked was you could not get into them from a door directly, you had to go into a wall door and go out on a little railed outside porch which took you to a door on the side of the fire stairwell keeping the fire from coming directly into the fire escape. the wall where it was built against was double walled all the walls Had one inch rods running two ways and floors, walls and cealings were all 2 foot thick!

A good example of how well they were built is the fire many years ago that was started by Vandels on the top 3rd floor of Q Building The Fire Observation tower building. Vandels lit some barrels of Corn whisky sitting up there, I know becuase of remaining chared heads that say Corn Whisky.

It got so hot all the glass windows in the fire tower room melted, I have read that glass only starts to melt at 2,900 degrees or there about. It was so Hot the fire company knocked in a back wall area to get to the fire and put in out. After All these years Q Building stills stands and you can still walk up the fire stairs safely to do one of the things I loved to do look out across the plant for far distances seeing all area's around, as it was deisigned to do too look for any fire near or in the plant.

Built at the High point of the plant going back to give a view of the whole Plant it was a enginering High point and a tribute to operating the Plant with great safety.

I will always be proud for working there and thankful to Mr Neumans great idea's that kept the place safe and you can bet Old Joe Trish did alot of the blueprint design's for the Plant when it was being built in the early 1940's.
Dave Z
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Join The Swing To Kinsey The Unhurried Whisky
For Unhurried Moments

[dave ziegler]

Not very long ago about two weeks I got to Kinsey and discovered that vandels are now laying Fire exstingusers everywhere. The amazing thing is these units are dated 1979/1980 and they still have a full charge because they are of the old time steel with solid valve on top. I have one at home that is still fully charged and in great shape being a CO;2 type there were and still are hundreds of them there.

When we were cutting out all the steel whisky racks we had fire watch teams because of the whisky that had soaked into the floors through the years. Cal Robers stood all day at the ready with exstingusers in case of fire as we the yard gang carried the racks out as they were cut by Welding torch as they were built so well they had to cut them at the welds and take them out in pieces.

It was sad to see lots of the racks going but the new idea then was to stack the barrles on piles as they were filled and it was also hard work, then as we were also using the 120 gal barrels and 300 + gal barrles too!



Back when I worked at Kinsey there were dozens per floor of the Explosion proof warehouses hung on the large Pillers on each floor. They were checked every year and filled when empty. It was due to the pactices of safety that we never had any fires in the plant anywhere through its operating history! Looking back I always felt safe there at work never really thought of anything going wrong and the reason was simple we were prepared for most things that could happen.

The Kinsey Distillery had a long History of Safety and those who worked there were proud to work there!

I will post a picture some time of my Extinguser here it is another piece of History saved from the Vandels that never stop going there to destroy!
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

While checking out a friends new Phone with web and video I found something really Cool aparently if I could have known and got in Kinsey back in around 2000 many of the Old trucks and stuff where still sitting there. While looking I saw that they had gotten another Old Fire pumper with a cab and ladders to go with the Old One. This must have been bought not long after I left. In the Persons Video the fire truck was sitting in weeds next to the Fire House as if Parked and never moved again.

Also Out front I saw one of our Old 1941 Ford flat trucks sitting and lots of other cars and stuff. These were cut up later by the people who claimed they were going to buy Kinsey and were fixing it up all the while under the guise that they were going to build a Pro Pane electric Plant and use all the buildings. All that ever came of that was them stealing metal and knocking down the still and catching the Old Bottle house on fire then leaving after making so much money that they abandoned some fork lifts outside in the plant.

I am going to research and see if there is any way I can get some of those pictures for History. They also were at fault for the catching on fire of Warehouse I as far as I can figure burning Thousands of bottles of Spirits left behind or at least leaving it open for Vandels to do this including cases of my favorite peanut Liquor.

I have found lists of much of what was left behind when the Owner would not let Continental People in any more.

This is more of the sad story of the end of Kinsey in fall of 1986, never to be protected and left to be destroyed by Vandels all these years.

I would Neven want Ludy to see her as she is now it would break his heart. Because of this I will keep working on new things here and on other threads of the Histiory of Kinsey and I hope to find some more yr 2000 pictures.
Dave Z
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Kinsey The Unhurried Whisky For Unhurried Moments

[dave ziegler]

I am posting a few pictures taken on Sunday of the Old Buildings out front that were always in the mothly Fire safety drills done at Kinsey under the supervision of Cal Roberts are Company Fireman. The team of him Harry martin and Stan Sofoniwitz kept Kinsey fire free through all the years we Operated.

1.This pile of Bricks was once the Original Plant office where our Boss Mr Harold Reinnert worked the People who said they were fixinf the Plant up years ago caught it and the old bottle house and barn on fire cuting Metal up.

2.,3. Here is the Old #10 Rye Building from the side across from the still was and inside looking back from the front the Sun was really bright on Sun so the pictures are a bit light.

4. A shot of the Old final grain process building looking from where the Old DSP-Pa. 12 stood.

It is sad to think of the fools who caught these Historic buildings on fire but whats done is done and so I try to lay out a picture of how it looked and how everything worked and these buildings alway had top priority for Fire frighting drills.

I will later today post the rest of my Pictures from all over the Plant on the memories Thread.
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon