Walmart Listowel announced via its social media pages that it reopened on May 29 after a fire occurred.
“Late Tuesday night (May 27), we immediately evacuated the store due to a fire that occurred in the space used by one of our in-store third-party licensees,” Walmart Senior Manager of Communications Amanda Moss told the Listowel Banner in an email.
“All associates and customers are safe. We want to thank all first responders who attended the fire,” she continued.
The North Perth Fire Department (NPFD) stated that personnel from the Listowel, Atwood and Monkton stations – as well as Perth County Paramedic Services and North Perth OPP – responded to a fire at a commercial occupancy in the evening of May 27.
“The fire was contained to the area of origin; however, the smoke spread was significant,” a NPFD social media post stated. “The property was released to the owner shortly before 2 a.m. The cause of the fire is undetermined, and there were no injuries.”
Moss told the Banner that Walmart Canada’s top priority is the safety of its associates and customers.
“The store was temporarily closed as we carried out the necessary clean-up and ensured the store was up to the standards our customers expect and deserve,” Moss wrote.
NPFD stated that the incident was reported to the Office of the Fire Marshal due to the dollar loss attributed to smoke damage.
Under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, in the province of Ontario, the Office of the Fire Marshal will investigate “large loss fires of $500,000 and over, or where the loss is significant to the community.” The provincial website states “the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) provides leadership and expertise on fire safety, and promotes changes to minimize the impact of fire and other public safety hazards on people, property and the environment in Ontario.”
“The store has now reopened,” Moss wrote on May 29. “We thank our customers for their understanding and patience during this short-term closure.”