Tennessee House Fire Sets Off Ammunition

Jim and Madelyn Andre were going to sleep in Friday morning. A little extra rest on a spring-like morning with rain approaching.

Instead, they were awakened before dawn by popping, banging, explosions and a ball of fire behind a house two doors down from them at 218 Walnut Bend Cove in Cordova.

"I thought an airplane had fallen out of the sky and hit that house," she said. "I shot right out of that bed. It didn't sound like thunder."

Said Jim: "It was sort of a cross between firecrackers going off and gunshots."

The Andres and their neighbors near the corner of Walnut Bend and Walnut Bend Cove were evacuated from their homes as authorities not only had to deal with a fire, but also the instability of a large cache of ammunition in the house.

"It was freaky scary," said Michele Muggridge, one of those evacuated for safety precautions.

By mid-afternoon, the bulk of the fire and police equipment had gone. Cleanup crews were behind the house shoveling what appeared to be shells from a concrete slab, while green metal ammunition boxes sat in another part of the yard.

The unnerving atmosphere in the neighborhood had waned. Residents of the home where the fire started were removing belongings from the house, which reflected charred marks along the roof line and heavy damage on the back where authorities said a shed was located.

Property assessor records show the house is owned by Harry L. Davis III and Peggy Davis. A woman leaving the house Friday afternoon politely declined comment.

Lt. Wayne Cooke of the Memphis Fire Department said they received the fire call at 4:49 a.m. When they arrived, they discovered a large amount of ammunition in a shed at the rear of the house and in the attic. As the fire got hotter, the ammunition began going off, sending firefighters into a defensive mode.

Cooke said no one was injured in the fire or while battling the blaze.

According to an Internet search, Harry Davis at the Walnut Bend Cove address is linked to a business called Specialty Bullet Co.

The fire was under control by 5:18 a.m., Cooke said. The cause was still under investigation. In addition to Memphis police and fire, officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also were involved in the investigation.

Most neighbors said they were aware of the ammunition business that operated out of the house.

"Once I started hearing it, it kind of hit me that it was that ammo going," Jim Andre said, "which I figured could go just about anywhere."

McClatchy-Tribune News Service