Fire, Explosion Destroys Indiana Grocery Store

An overnight fire and explosion destroyed a Hispanic grocery store in a central Indiana city.

Anderson firefighters needed more than three hours early Tuesday to put out the blaze that destroyed the Esmeralda grocery near the city’s downtown.

Assistant Fire Chief Dave Cravens tells The Herald Bulletin that a fire crew on its way to another call spotted flames coming from the building about 1 a.m. He says that an explosion a few minutes later propelled shattered glass across the street.

No injuries were reported from the fire. The property around the grocery is fenced and gated, and Cravens said investigators didn’t immediately know what caused the fire.