Category Archives: Grocery Store / Super Center

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Fort Worth, TX – Sprinkler system extinguishes arson fire at Wal-Mart; Damage limited to one aisle

A 36-year-old man lit a fire at a Wal-Mart in far north Fort Worth last week to create a diversion and steal money, but he “chickened out” and left the store empty-handed, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Gilberto Hernandez was charged with arson this week, accused in a fire at the Wal-Mart in the 2400 block of Avondale Haslet Road on July 3. The fire was contained to one aisle and was extinguished by the store’s sprinkler system.  Hernandez, in an interview with arson investigators, admitted setting the fire, according to an affidavit written by investigator M.B. Sims.

Hernandez said he had been “casing” the Wal-Mart for more than two months and had managed to steal a manager’s set of keys, the affidavit said. On July 3, he went to the store with his wife, who was unaware of his plans to set a fire. At the store, Hernandez grabbed a flammable product from the automotive department, spread it on merchandise in the drapes aisle and started a fire with a cigarette lighter.   At a cash register, he told an employee that he smelled smoke. “He said he made this comment so that someone would put the fire out,” the affidavit said. “He said he couldn’t go through with stealing the money after all.”

Investigators obtained surveillance video of Hernandez walking into the drapes aisle with a container of fuel additive, the affidavit said. Photographs and video of him leaving the store were released to news outlets last week and investigators received numerous tips identifying Hernandez as the suspect.  Fort Worth police initially arrested Hernandez at his home Thursday on an unrelated warrant out of Indiana. He remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Tuesday with bail set at $50,000.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Hammond, LA – Arson fire at Walmart store contained by sprinkler system

A man is in custody and charged with arson in connection with two fires Saturday afternoon at Northshore Walmart stores. Louisiana State Fire Marshal Chief Butch Browning says 45-year-old Larry Paul Schouest Jr. started the fires at the Hammond and Amite Walmart stores as a distraction after stealing laptop computers from the stores.

Officials say the fires were set in the store’s pool chemical areas, but the sprinkler systems kept the fires from getting out of control. Fire crews evacuated the stores. No one was hurt. Fire marshal deputies say they also obtained a confession from Schouest that he set a fire on June 27 at the Ponchatoula Walmart, where he also stole laptops.  Browning says Schouest was charged with two counts of aggravated arson and six counts of felony theft. He was booked into the Tangipahoa Parish prison.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Moses Lake, WA – Sprinkler system activates to help stop fire at grocery store deli

The Moses Lake Safeway was evacuated Tuesday morning after a fire started in the deli section.

Moses Lake firefighters responded to find heavy smoke coming from the roof vents, according to Assistant Fire Chief Pete Kunjara.

The fire is out and firefighters are assessing the damage. Kunjara said the store’s sprinkler system did activate. It’s unclear if the flames caused damage to the roof.

No injuries were reported.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system puts out flames after teens light fireworks display on fire

Police are offering a reward of $10,000 for the arrest and conviction of two teens accused of setting off a fireworks display at a southwest Atlanta grocery store.

The Publix on Camp Creek Parkway was evacuated. The sprinkler system inside put out the flames, but the fire left a huge mess. Authorities said one minor injury was reported.

Fire investigators say two teens caught on surveillance took a lighter to the display. They say the boys actually helped a woman get a watermelon into her grocery cart before igniting the display, sparking a large fire and mayhem.

“It sounded like gunshots. Of course, everyone is freaking out. Everyone was so scared and frantic. They ran through the back room and knocked my whole buggy of beer down,” said Josh Butler, a beer vendor who was inside the store when it happened.

Investigators say it took the teens two attempts with the lighter before the display ignited. “It lasted for, like, 30 minutes so I knew it wasn’t a gunshot,” Butler said.

Publix told Channel 2’s Liz Artz that team members from several Publix stores in the area worked all night long to clean up so the store could open on time this morning.

“It looks very good. It looks normal. It’s always clean so it looked very much like I expected it to look,” one customer said.

She said the smell of smoke was faint inside the store.

Police say the two teens who ignited the fireworks face arson charges.

“That’s so sad for them. They’ve got so much to look forward to in life and then go and ruin it at this stage of their life,” the customer said.

Publix says it has no intentions of removing the fireworks displays from any of its stores.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Huntersville, NC – Suspicious fire at Target store contained with help from sprinkler system

Investigators are considering the Target on Sam Furr Road in Huntersville to be a crime scene as they determine whether a fire Monday inside the store was set intentionally. The Mecklenburg County fire marshal revealed Tuesday that the fire was discovered in the paper product aisle of the store.  “It was already barreling up like past my height when I saw it,” Erin Soloman said.  Soloman called 911 after seeing the fire in the middle of a shopping aisle, and said she immediately knew it was suspicious.  “I saw the toilet paper and paper towels on fire,” Soloman said.

The Mecklenburg County fire marshal and Huntersville police are handling the investigation. They have not confirmed how the fire was started. As many as 36 firefighters from multiple agencies responded on the ground and on the roof, and extinguished the fire within 45 minutes. The fire was contained to the paper product aisle, but there is extensive smoke, soot and odor damage throughout the store, as well as water damage from the fire sprinkler system, according to the Mecklenburg County fire marshal.

“We’re looking at a lot of damage inside that building,” said Bill Suthard, spokesman for the Huntersville Fire Department. Three customers and one employee were treated for smoke inhalation, but no one was seriously hurt.  “It definitely started getting hard to breathe and I even started to feel it in my eyes,” Jarrod Bennett said.  While many shoppers describe the fire and emergency response as somewhat inconvenient, they’re thankful no one was hurt.  “It would’ve been a much more unfortunate situation,” Soloman said.

Target released a statement on Tuesday regarding the fire: On Monday, the fire and police departments responded to a fire at our Huntersville Target store. At Target, the safety and security of our guests and team members is of the utmost important to us. We worked to quickly evacuate the store and provide medical treatment to a handful of guests and team members who needed it. At this time, the store remains closed as we assess the damage and determine when the store might reopen. This is an active investigation and we encourage you to contact local law enforcement with additional questions.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Peoria, IL – Sprinkler system limits spread of grocery store fire; Store reopens the next day

An artificial Christmas tree stored on top of a cooler caught fire Tuesday evening at The Fresh Market in the Westlake Shopping Center and caused an estimated $250,000 in damages, according to the Peoria Fire Department. The fire caused extensive smoke damage, but minimal fire damage and no injuries, according to the Fire Department.  The store’s sprinkler system was activated for nearly 30 minutes, said Fire Department Division Chief Paul Brodkorb. The sprinkler system made it difficult for firefighters to use thermal imaging to find the fire, according to a Fire Department news release. After turning off the sprinkler system, firefighters tracked the source of the fire to a Christmas tree stored on top of a walk-in cooler.

Inside, there was heavy black smoke for about 45 minutes, likely ruining a good portion of the food, according to Peoria Battalion Chief J.R. Malone. The Health Department was on scene to figure out what needed to be discarded. It is unlikely, Malone said, that The Fresh Market will be back open Wednesday. Officials are investigating how the tree caught fire. The fire was reported at 6:36 p.m. Firefighters arrived at 6:40 p.m. and had the fire under control about 7:30 p.m., according to the Fire Department. The Fresh Market was evacuated, as well as the neighboring Guitar Center and Ross Dress for Less store.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Alliston, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system helps extinguish intentionally-set fire at Walmart

The Walmart in Alliston will be open for business on April 21 after being closed since April 7 when a fire was set inside the store.

“We are reopening the store tomorrow morning (April 21) at 7 a.m.,” said Alex Roberton, senior director of corporate affairs for Walmart Canada.

The Walmart was closed for clean up after multiple fires were set inside the store on April 7.

The Nottawasaga detachment of the OPP charged a 15-year-old girl with arson in connection with the fires. Police believe the suspect hid inside the store when it closed at 10 p.m.

New Tecumseth firefighters responded and extinguished a fire in the central area of store. The sprinkler system inside the store engaged, helping to extinguish the flames.

Lee Jeyes, operation director for Ontario Walmarts, said a number of things had to be done to make sure the store was safe to reopen.

“The first thing we had to do and address was to work with health department,” Jeyes said.

The health department identified what had been damaged by smoke, he said.

“The majority of the food product and consumable product had been smoke damaged so we had to remove anything that the health department deemed as unsafe,” he said.

He said they took out merchandise that was “unsalable” and destroyed it. They then took the merchandise that could be donated and gave it to Salvation Army and a local food bank.

“We were able to donate almost $700,000 worth of product,” Roberton said.

A final dollar amount for the damages still hasn’t been determined.Jeyes said the sprinkler system only engaged in the fashion department of the store, and not every department experienced smoke damage.

The whole store was cleaned and the past week has been spent bringing merchandise back in.

When the doors open again, some product will still be unavailable.

“Not everything will be available, the majority of the food department and consumable department will be available and fully stocked,” Jeyes said. “We will still be working on some of the general merchandise areas, especially fashion and clothing.”

Jeyes thanked the community for their patience.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Bozeman, MT – Electrical equipment fire at Target store held in check by sprinkler system

Target had an unexpected mid-day closure yesterday afternoon, after a small fire started from malfunctioning electrical equipment. An electrical problem, also affecting other stores in the area, may have occurred as a result of the Baxter Lane rollover.  There were no injuries and the sprinkler system clicked on immediately. It was contained to the entrance of the store.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Battle Creek, MI – Early morning fire in shopping cart storage area at Meijer store extinguished by sprinkler system

The Meijer Inc. store in Battle Creek has reopened after an evacuation and fire early Monday. Battle Creek firefighters were called to 2191 W. Columbia Ave. at 2:17 a.m. for a structure fire, according to Battalion Chief Matt Beauchamp.  He said when the first firefighters arrived they found smoke in the northwest corner of the building where shopping carts were stored.

“There was a decent amount of smoke,” Beauchamp said. He said a sprinkler had activated in the cart storage area and had extinguished the fire. “The sprinklers kept it in check,” Beauchamp said. Store employees, firefighters and Battle Creek police searched the building several times and evacuated everyone inside. No injuries were reported. Beauchamp said the fire appears to originated in an electric cart  stored with other shopping carts.

He said maintenance crews from the store were called to ensure the fire alarm and sprinkler system were functioning properly and the Calhoun County Health Department was notified because of the perishable food in the building. The health department inspected the store and determined it could be opened, firefighters said later Monday morning.  Firefighters left the scene about 4 a.m. They estimated damage at $3,000.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Endicott, NY – Sprinkler system puts out fire at Weis Market; Suspect arrested and charged with arson

A Johnson City man has been charged with arson after officials say he intentionally set a fire in the Weis Market in West Corners.

The West Corners Fire Department responded to the Weis, located at 412 Day Hollow Road in the Town of Union, around 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 16th for a report of a small fire inside the store.

Officials say the store was occupied by both employees and shoppers at the time, and that the fire was extinguished by the automatic fire sprinkler system.

They say the fire caused almost $10,000 in damages and lost income.An investigation by the Broome County Bureau of Fire Investigation found that the fire was intentionally set in a coat room at the rear of the store.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

As a result of the investigation, Zachary Constable, 22, of Johnson City, was arrested and charged with arson in the 2nd degree and criminal mischief in the 2nd degree, both felonies.

He was arraigned in the Town of Union Court and was taken to the Broome County Jail.