Category Archives: Retail

Other - Retail, Retail

Barre, VT – Quick thinking 5-year old; Quick acting sprinkler system assist firefighters in store fire

A quick thinking 5-year-old is credited with spotting a fire in downtown Barre that officials say could have been much worse. Meet Gabriel DeJesus, a five-year-old hero. “I saw smoke coming out of a chimney and I knew it was going to be a fire,” said Gabriel. The Barre kindergartener spotted a fire at Bob’s Camera and Video in Barre Saturday night.

“Just going for a drive and he goes, ‘Dad, there’s smoke pouring out of that building,'” said Jaime DeJesus, Gabriel’s dad. “It was a lot, and it was all white and black,” Gabriel said.  The family pulled over for a closer look, and they called 911. “I commend him,” said Barre Fire Dept. Dep. Chief Joseph Aldsworth.  “He’s great. He’s a superhero,” said John Biondolillo, the owner of the building.

Thankfully the shop had closed for the day so no one was inside. The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire contained to the store’s basement until firefighters arrived.  “I was watching all the fire trucks come,”  Gabriel said.  Bob’s Camera and Video is right on Main Street. Fire officials say that if the sprinklers weren’t working, downtown Barre could have seen much worse damage. “It’s in a row of block buildings here, so it would definitely have a potential of loss,” Dep. Chief Aldsworth said.

Investigators are still looking into what caused the fire. They say this fire should remind community members to check their sprinkler systems. “They need to be inspected annually by a reputable company that leaves a sticker,” Dep. Chief Aldsworth said. It also serves as a reminder that kids can make a big difference too.    

“I am super thankful that he saw that. I don’t know what he would have done if he didn’t notice it and tell his parents,” said Kaitlyn Mesler, the owner of Bob’s Camera and Video. When asked what it’s like to save people and businesses, Gabriel responded, “It makes me feel so good.”

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.

Department Store, Retail

St. George, UT – Fire in break room at TJ Maxx store extinguished by sprinkler system

Firefighters rolled out to a structure fire Sunday morning at a retail store that was extinguished by the time they arrived, thanks to an internal sprinkler system. “Sprinklers for us are life savers and building savers both,” St. George Fire Battalion Chief Darren Imlay said.  Firefighters responded to a fire alarm at TJ Maxx, 42 S. River Road, around 6:20 a.m., Imlay said.

When they arrived on scene the firefighters saw some light white smoke inside the building. Lights and alarms attached to a fire alarm were going off at the time and water was on the floor, signifying the sprinklers had gone off. The sprinklers had extinguished the fire before they arrived, Imlay said, leaving it to firefighters to reset the sprinkler system and alarm, as well as air out the building.

The fire had started in an employee break room by a large vending machine. While sprinklers and alarms going off in commercial buildings is nothing new (sprinkler systems for fire suppression are required by standards set by the National Fire Protection Association), Imlay was nonetheless glad they were in play in this instance.

“For us, that could have been a big, big fire,” he said, “but because it was a sprinklered building … the sprinklers activated and kept the building from burning down. Plus the alarm activated and we were notified through the alarm company, so we had a quick response there.” Though sprinklers systems for fire suppression may not be as common in residential units as they are in commercial ones, residents can still invest in smoke detectors (which can be acquired for free in some instances) and alarm systems that can alert police, fire and medical personnel to a potential emergency.

The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire. A call into TJ Maxx’s St. George location Tuesday was answered by a recorded message stating the St. George store is currently closed for renovations and will have a grand reopening soon. This report is based on preliminary information provided by emergency responders who were at the scene and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Other - Retail, Retail

Langford, BC, Canada – Early morning fire at paint store controlled by sprinkler system

A Langford paint store has its sprinkler system to thank for putting a stop to what could have been a devastating blaze. Flames broke out at Cloverdale Paint on Langford Parkway at around 4 a.m. Monday morning, according to Langford Fire Rescue.

“When we arrived there was heavy smoke showing from the building,” said Asst. Fire Chief Chris Aubrey. “The sprinkler system had just activated and was containing the fire, but we did have to force the front door and make entry, and put the fire out.”

It’s believed the blaze caused the store’s motion sensors to go off, activating the alarm. “Should there not have been a sprinkler system it would’ve been a very significant fire,” said Aubrey.  The cause is not yet known but the fire isn’t considered suspicious, investigators said.  Damage to the building is estimated to be approximately $75,000 and the store will remain closed for an unknown amount of time.

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.

Department Store, Retail

Northridge, CA – Trash compactor fire at Kohl’s store limited with help from sprinkler system

Los Angeles firefighters doused a dumpster fire on Saturday morning that broke out behind a Kohl’s store in Northridge. The blaze began at 8:18 a.m. at a combination compactor-dumpster that spanned the outside and inside of the Kohl’s store at 8800 Corbin Ave., said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. It took 34 firefighters 21 minutes to snuff it out.  A fire sprinkler system helped lesson the damage to store equipment and its loading dock, Humphrey said.  There were no injuries. The cause of the fire and damages were under investigation.

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.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Chesterfield, VA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in mall bathroom

A store at a Chesterfield mall will be closed for a few hours after a fire broke out in the bathroom.

Chesterfield firefighters received the call at 9:10 a.m. for a report of a fire in the bathroom at Chesterfield Towne Center, located at 11500 Midlothian Turnpike.

When crews arrived on the scene, they found a small fire in the bathroom of the At Home store. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system. However, there was still some smoke inside and outside of the bathroom.

No injuries were reported, but employees and customers evacuated the store.

Crews are still on the scene for water cleanup, which will start once the sprinkler system shuts off.

The store opened at 9 a.m., but the store will be closed for a few hours as crews clean up. There is no word yet on when the store will reopen.