Retail, Shopping Mall Missoula, MT – Sprinkler system activates to help prevent dumpster fire from spreading into shopping mall September 19, 2016 viking210 Witnesses say thick smoke was billowing into the Southgate Mall late Friday evening as emergency crews responded to a fire outside the shopping center. The incident happened just after 8 p.m. when firefighters discovered a dumpster outside J.C. Penny was engulfed in flames. Mall security assisted with evacuating shoppers. Firefighters say heat from the fire triggered at least one mall sprinkler system. Missoula City Fire Battalion Chief Derek Mullins says they were able to quickly extinguish the fire and that no one was hurt. “Crews got the fire knocked out real quick, there were no injuries, and right now we’re working with mall security to try to reset the alarm and get the sprinkler system back up and running,” said Mullins. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
