Moments before a fireball engulfed Twister Distillery on Friday morning, distiller Jeff Thurmon was telling a reporter from The Oklahoman how he had worked for three straight days to fill the company’s first order for 100 cases of Success Vodka.

“It’s been going 24 hours a day, nonstop; there’s alcohol and flame involved, so you can’t leave it,” Thurmon said.

Minutes later, a geyser of clear alcohol began spewing several feet into the air from a makeshift still in the garage bay Twister Distillery rents in a Moore industrial park. The room then erupted in a flash of orange flame as Thurmon rushed to shut off a propane tank.

The heat from the flash flame caused glass bottles at the distillery to explode. The sound of shattering liquor bottles could be heard for several minutes after the blast.