A Walmart at St. Vital Centre was evacuated Monday night after a fire inside the store.
“We are thankful that all Walmart staff and visitors were evacuated safely, everyone was accounted for, and no one was injured,” the shopping centre said in a social media post. “St. Vital Centre continues to work closely with Walmart, the Winnipeg Police Service, and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service to assist in any way we can.”
St. Vital Centre staff said Tuesday morning the Walmart store has not re-opened, and it did not know when it would.
Fire is seen at a Walmart at St. Vital Centre on Monday. (Supplied)
The WFPS said in a news release emergency crews were called to a commercial building in the 1200 block of St. Mary’s Road just after 7 p.m. Monday. Firefighters quickly put out the fire after the building’s sprinkler system mostly extinguished the blaze before crews arrived.
Laura, who was shopping in the grocery aisle at the time, said she heard someone yell, “Fire.”
“I turned around and saw… thick black smoke and large flames,” she said, adding she tried to take a photo but ended up recording a short video instead.
“From what I could see, it appeared the fire was in the bedding aisle. The sprinklers activated and shortly afterward the emergency alarm began sounding while Walmart announced that everyone needed to evacuate the store. In the minute or so it took me to get outside, the black smoke had intensified and was spreading toward the front of the store.”
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Laura said most people were walking calmly toward the front doors when she was exiting the building.
Another witness who spoke to the Free Press on Tuesday also said the fire started in the store’s bedding section.
They said staff did a good job of directing people out of the store as it was being evacuated.
No injuries were reported. A damage estimate was not immediately available and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca
Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott.
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