Power loss at Alcoa Kroger

Tuesday morning, Alcoa Fire Department responded to a report at 3:47 a.m. of smoke at Kroger, 244 S. Hall Road, Alcoa.

According to Fire Marshal Darren Stinnett, due to early morning storms, it was possible that lightning hit a transformer, causing a power surge that caused large amounts of smoke in the building. Stinnett said that it was “probably pretty scary for employees,” and that the surge “fried everything electric in the building.”

Approximately 16 firefighters, four engines and one ladder responded to the call at approximately 3:51 a.m. and were able to pull smoke out of the building using positive pressure fans, Stinnett said.

Stinnett said that the store will likely be closed for a couple days while electricians from Kroger corporate and Alcoa Electric work to restore power.

Reportedly, Kroger lost an unknown amount of product due to freezers without power.