Community

Exterior fire at Ferry Kroger

MARTINS FERRY -- Firefighters responded early Wednesday afternoon to billowing black smoke outside the Kroger store on Aetna Street.

The store was evacuated and staff gathered in the parking lot, while a barrier of shopping carts was placed in a row across the parking lot entrance.

Fire Capt. Taylor Fogle of the Martins Ferry Volunteer Fire Department Ladder Company said the fire was doused quickly.

"We were dispatched on report of a possible structure fire, multiple calls," he said. Dispatchers then clarified the fire was on the outside of the store.

"The fire here was typically on the outside. There was nothing involved in the structure itself. The structure is completely safe and sound. With the outside here, we're not sure what caused it as of this point. We'll be doing an investigation," he said.

Fogle said the flames caused soot to form on one side of the building, but the fire itself did not damage the store. He said no injuries resulted, and they were able to extinguish the fire shortly after arriving.

He did not speculate about what was burning but said it was not a dumpster fire, although the dumpster was nearby.

"The garbage compactor was not involved. There was something here that was on the ground, we're not sure what that is. We spoke with the manager. They're going to be doing their own investigation to figure out what was there and what could have caused it," he said.

Fogle pointed out a nearby exterior store camera, which would have recorded anyone who might have deliberately set a fire.

Kroger staff at the site made no comment, but the store was soon able to reopen. Responding police officers said the store was cleared as a safety precaution.

The Kroger corporate office did not respond to a request for comment.

The smoke was visible to residents, patrons of nearby businesses and motorists on Interstate 70 and Ohio 7.

Neighborhood resident Debbie Chesnick saw the early stages of the blaze.

"It was just a bunch of billowing black smoke that came out in puffs, and it kept getting blacker and blacker," she said. "It was pretty scary for a minute there. We didn't know if it was on the roof or where it was. .. .To have that much smoke and stuff, it blows my mind."

Mikala Lee, another resident, watched the firefighters contain the incident.

"My dogs started barking and I looked out my window and saw the black cloud," she said. "They got it out really fast."

City water department employee Jeff Jackson was also observing. He said first responders had to prepare for the worst.

"We seen smoke, then flames. It was going from black smoke to white smoke. Because of the smoke, you couldn't really see. I thought it was rolling out the (delivery bays), I really did."