Dry Ice Explosion Causes Scare At Arlington Kroger Store

(Arlington, TN) Shelby County Sheriff Deputies now know that explosion at the Kroger grocery store in Arlington was an accident.

Just a twenty ounce water bottle and chip of dry ice evacuated te Kroger and left the town in a panic Thursday around noon.

It was especially troublesome after an intentional explosion at a Memphis school earlier in the day.

Ashlee Cortopassi was shopping inside the Arlington Kroger when there was an explosion in the parking lot.

At the time,  they didn’t know it was an accident.

“Had a full basket down to the last aisle and they just came through telling everyone to get out of the building. They announced it overhead,” said Cortopassi.

Once Cortopassi got outside, the parking lot was full of fire trucks and sheriff’s cars,”That makes you a little nervous that something could be happening when your jet inside going about your business.”

Chip Washington with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said a Wright Medical employee left his water bottle outside in a shopping cart.

The man, who deputies aren’t identifying, put dry ice in his water to cool it off.

The pressure inside that bottle caused it to explode.

Washington says the response was amplified by an earlier explosion at Craigmont High in Memphis, “You never know. First and foremost when you initially get a call about an explosion you don’t know what you’re dealing with. A thorough investigation must be conducted.”

There were no injuries or damage in the Kroger explosion, but Arlington Mayor Mike Whissman says this is proof the city is prepared for a big emergency, “A lot of people question us not having a police force out here, but with the sheriff’s department headquartered here you can see the response around us. I mean I think there were fifteen or twenty deputies.”

Vanessa Short said the biggest disaster out of the mess was left inside Kroger, “It’s fine now. Got a lot if re-shops. Got a lot of stuff to put back.”

The sheriff’s office said they do not expect charges because it was an accident.

Kroger management said the man had left and gone back to work when he heard about the explosion and called deputies to explain what appended. His story was backed it by surveillance video.

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