Mary Alice Reporting –
New Philadelphia’s Walmart was briefly closed Thursday morning but reopened following a health inspection.
Customers were not able to get inside the Bluebell Drive business due to a response by firefighters.
The original call, came in at 6:25am, for a structure fire. Things became more clear once on scene, says city fire department Captain Wes Tucke.
“Possible fire in the deli this morning. It’s been isolated to one of main walk-in coolers inside the deli itself.”
The supermarket reopened before 10am and Captain Jim Sholtz says the health department conducted an investigation related to the smoke produced from freezer units heat tape melting down to catch some boxes on fire.
“And the fire was just limited to that small area. It was a fairly small area but it did release some smoke out into the deli area and the health department helped Walmart in choosing what needed to be disposed and what was okay.”
No one was injured and prior to unit’s arrival, all employees and customers had evacuated.
Copyright WTUZ Radio Inc., 2023