Category Archives: Grocery Store / Super Center

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Hershey, PA – Fire at grocery store contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system stopped a fire from spreading inside a Giant Foods store in Derry Township Thursday morning.

According to Hershey Fire Chief Pat Leonard, the fire at the store on Cocoa Avenue appears to have started around 5 a.m. in machinery used to clean the floors, then spread to a compactor full of cardboard. However, the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A worker discovered the fire, and employees called 911. No injuries were reported.

The sprinkler system activated and “held the fire in check,” he said.

Smoke filled the store, but there was no structural damage, Leonard said. Giant expects “pretty significant cleanup” in the back of the store, he said.

The fire was reported before the store was scheduled to open at 6 a.m. It’s closed for cleanup, according to the Hershey Fire Department.

“We are very very fortunate we had plenty of manpower from Hershey, and our mutual aid companies supplemented it,” Leonard said. “It’s a good day when we all work together.”

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Litchfield, IL – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Walmart

Authorities are investigating the origin of a fire Monday evening, May 3, at Walmart in Litchfield that lead to the evacuation and temporary closure of the store.

According to Litchfield Fire Department Chief Joe Holomy, the Litchfield Police Department is working with fire and arson investigators who are reviewing video footage as part of investigation.  Anyone with information about the fire should contact the Litchfield Fire Department at 217-324-8171.

According to the chief, the Litchfield Fire Department was dispatched to Walmart at 7:32 p.m. Monday after a report of flames and smoke in the store.  Evacuation was underway when firefighters arrived to find smoke throughout the store.

Two employees were attempting to extinguish a fire in the rear of the building with fire extinguishers, and the store’s sprinkler system activated to aid in control of the blaze.  Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and shut down the sprinkler system to control water damage.

The fire department requested a mutual aid ventilation fan, and the Raymond-Harvel Fire Department and Mt. Olive Fire Department arrived to assist with ventilation.

The scene was under control at 7:45 p.m., and two Walmart employees were evaluated for smoke inhalation but refused transport to the hospital.

Damage estimates are still being calculated, and the store will be closed for several days for clean-up.

The Litchfield Police Department, Hillsboro Area Ambulance, and Gillespie Fire Department also responded to the scene.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Walmart; No injuries reported

Clark County Fire Department responded Tuesday evening to a fire at a Walmart on Boulder Highway.

At approximately 9:33 p.m. firefighters responded to occupants evacuating the building which had light smoke throughout. A pallet of paper goods had burned setting off sprinklers in the store.

The fire was extinguished and no injuries were reported.

The cause is unknown at this time.

This is is an ongoing investigation.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at Walmart

Fire investigators believe a Sunday night fire at the Walmart Supercenter on at Charleston and Decatur boulevards was “intentionally set.”

The fire started just before 8 p.m. in the rear of the store in the paper towel aisle creating a large amount of smoke. According to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, automatic fire sprinklers quickly helped douse the flames.

When fire crews arrived at the scene, people were already in the process of evacuating the store. One person was injured when they tripped and fell during the evacuation. That person was treated by paramedics and transported to the hospital.

Damage was estimated at $200,000, mostly due to smoke damaging items in the store. Structural damage was estimated at less than $10,000. Firefighters and employees of Walmart worked quickly to make sure water from the sprinkler system did not damage the store further.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Plantation, FL – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Walmart; No injuries reported

An early morning fire at a Walmart in Plantation caused minor damage, closing the store and other adjacent businesses.

There were no reported injuries at the Walmart Neighborhood Market but smoke and water from the sprinkler system caused enough damage to keep the store closed until after clean up and repairs.

The fire started just before 2 a.m. Friday in the store at 1885 N. Pine Island Rd., located in the Jacaranda Square plaza near Sunrise Boulevard.

A Walmart employee outside the store would only say there was an emergency and the store is closed.

An employee at Davita Kidney Care, located next door, confirmed that there was a fire at the market overnight. She said it’s possible their medical office would be open later Friday after the smoke had cleared.

The Bealls Outlet sustained water damage from fire sprinklers and an employee tasked with cleaning up the mess said they would be closed for at least a couple of days, though there had been no fire in the department store.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Des Peres, MO – Supermarket fire that started in paper aisle contained by sprinkler system; No injuries Reported

Firefighters from multiple agencies raced to extinguish a fire Wednesday night at a Dierbergs store in West St. Louis County.

The call came in just after 8:10 p.m. at the Dierbergs at 1080 Lindemann Road.

The fire began in the paper aisle.

No one was injured and the store was safely evacuated. The sprinkler system did activate.

The fire was put out approximately 90 minutes later.

The St. Louis County Bomb and Arson Division is now investigating.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Fresno, CA – Sprinkler system kept fire in check at grocery store

A small fire broke out at a grocery store in central Fresno on Friday morning.

Firefighters say pieces of cardboard caught fire near the back of the Grocery Outlet on Blackstone and Effie. The flames then spread to inside the store.

A sprinkler-system inside the store kept the fire from growing. Fire crews were able to put the flames out quickly.

Damage to the store was minimal; the fire mostly burned cardboard in a storage section.

Firefighters are working to repair some of the water damage left behind by the sprinklers.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Monroe, GA – Supermarket sprinkler system stops bathroom fire

A sprinkler system averted would could have been a major fire damage at John’s Supermarket.

The Monroe Fire Department and Walton County Fire Rescue were dispatched to a commercial fire at the grocer, at 416 S. Broad St., shortly before 9:15 a.m. Monday.

Monroe fire Battalion Chief Jack Armstrong said the first units to arrive found a fire in a restroom extinguished by the sprinkler system.

“This was a fantastic example of how important fire sprinklers are,” Armstrong said. “What could have been millions in a loss only caused a few hundred dollars of damage.”

He said a faulty motor in the bathroom’s exhaust fan was the cause of the fire.

Armstrong said the store reopened after the danger eased.

John’s recently opened a major renovation of the store, which has been in Monroe for more than 50 years. The grocer opened an in-store restaurant, Bistro South, and added 8,500 square feet.

There are six loft apartments as well.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Kitchener/Waterloo, ON, Canada – Multiple fires at Walmart under investigation, kept in check by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Waterloo Regional Police are investigating after fires were set inside three Walmart stores in Kitchener and Waterloo on Tuesday night.

Police say emergency services were called to the Walmart location in the Sunrise Shopping Centre on Ottawa Street South near Fischer Hallman Road around 9:15 p.m. for a reported blaze.

“On arrival, they found an active fire in the paper products, while primarily toilet paper and other related products,” Tom Ruggle, Kitchener’s Chief Fire Prevention Officer, said.

Firefighters quickly put out the blaze.

At around 10 p.m., police said emergency services were called to the Walmart in Stanley Park Mall on River Road East near Ottawa Street North for another reported fire.

Similar to the first fire, someone lit paper products on fire, which needed to be extinguished by the Kitchener Fire Department.

Twenty minutes later, Waterloo Fire Rescue was called to the Walmart in the Bridgeport Plaza at Bridgeport Road East and Weber Street South.

“Firefighters confirmed entry into the store and encountered smoke banking down from the ceiling while conducting a primary search of the entire area,” Waterloo fire chief Richard Hepditch said.

“Fire crews ensured the fire was confined  and supported extinguishment of the fire which was kept in check by an active sprinkler-head/life-safety system.”

Similar to the KItchener fires, Waterloo police said the fire was started in the paper products aisle.

“All Waterloo Fire Stations responded to this incident where a total of 21 firefighters and 6 fire apparatus were involved.”

The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office estimated the cost of the three fires to be at around $12 million.

”The fires were relatively small and contained,” Ruggle explained about the damage the stores had sustained. “However, there was a fair bit of smoke that was produced at the time of the fire.”

Manny Garcia, who is a supervisor with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office, says the damage could have been a lot worse.“Thankfully, these these large, big box stores such as Wal-Mart, they are protected by sprinkler systems,” he explained.“There was also intervention by a storing employee with a fire extinguisher, and that certainly helped slow down the fire progress until the sprinkler went off.“

There were no injuries reported in connection with any of the fires.

Walmart kept the stores closed into Wednesday afternoon as it dealt with the clean-up and repairs

“The stores will re-open as soon as possible while we work with officials to ensure the stores are safe and up to the standards our customers expect and deserve,” the company said in a statement.

“This appears to be a criminal act that will unfortunately impact many of our customers and associates in the middle of the pandemic. We are working closely with officials as they investigate”.

Police are treating the fires as arson.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Sandy, UT – Fire sprinklers help put out fire after tractor-trailer full of fireworks caught on fire;No injuries reported

A tractor-trailer, parked at a loading dock at a Smith’s in Sandy and filled with fireworks, caught fire Thursday morning.

Crews responded to the fire near 2000 East and 9400 South just after one a.m.

Investigators said the cause of the fire is suspicious.

“Concerning, definitely, there are some things that are suspicious about it,” said Ryan McConaghie, Deputy Chief of the Sandy City Fire Department.

Firefighters said the fire didn’t start in the trailer. It appears it started underneath and they could see several wood pallets stacked under the trailer when they arrived.

“That fire spread into the tractor-trailer box that they found out was full of fireworks,” McConaghie said. “Started the fireworks and started burning in the interior that opened up through the aluminum roof of that tractor-trailer and then it spread into the Smith’s building loading dock area and that actuated the fire sprinklers that helped put out the fire on the inside.”

FOX 13 viewer, Ben Perry, captured the fire just moments after it began with his cell phone. Perry said he was driving home from work when he noticed the huge cloud of smoke and called 911. He said he stayed on scene until firefighters arrived.

“There were fireworks that were exploding and you could hear it in the radio traffic coming out the top of that trailer and I’m sure into the loading dock into the Smith’s area,” McConaghie said. “So probably kind of exciting for the first ten minutes or so.”

A handful of employees were inside Smith’s and they evacuated. There were no injuries.

Investigators will comb through the evidence and check security cameras and other evidence in order to determine the cause of the fire.