Liquor Store Fire Caused By Vodka Bottles, The Sun

Burnsville, MN – A liquor store fire that damaged an area business was reportedly started by vodka bottles and sunlight, according to FOX 9 News.

Sunlight poured through the windows of Red Lion Liquors and roasted the bottles of vodka sitting on a display. The heat soon became so intense that smoke started rising from the bottles. Once the right temperature had been reached, the tops popped off and sprayed the room with hot, steaming vodka.

“We have shades on the windows. We’ll pull them down on sunny days to protect the wine on the shelves, never thinking it would ever start a fire,” store manager Dave Hautman explained. “It was just this freak thing.”

The windows essentially acted as a magnifying glass for the sunlight. When everything was said and done, the vodka display was toasted by flames that reached 12 feet in the air. Fortunately, no one was harmed as a result of the blaze.

While most people would be upset that their business had been damaged by fire, smoke, and water, Hautman didn’t seem too rattled by the incident. According to The Patch, the manager seemed downright amused by the whole ordeal.

“It was entertaining,” he explained. “The firefighters were standing next to me like they were watching a new video game. They were going, ‘This is so cool!’ ” Burnsville fire marshal stated that he’d never seen anything quite like it.

Hautman added, “It’s the unexpected things that can kind of sucker punch you.”

Red Lion Liquors was closed for two weeks while necessarily repairs were made to the damaged sections of the store. Hautman and company re-opened for business on Friday.

Note to liquor stores across the globe: If you have flammable liquor positioned in front of a window that receives direct sunlight, you may want to rethink your floor plan.