Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, December 19, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A fire that broke out at Wal-Mart shortly before closing time Saturday night might have been arson.

"It is a suspicious fire and the investigation is ongoing," said RCMP Const. Roxanne Dreilich.

Firefighters responding to a fire Saturday at Wal-Mart. Police have called the fire suspicious and are investigating. - Jessica Klinkenberg/NNSL photo

Witnesses described the fire as starting with Christmas decorations near the in-store McDonald's restaurant.

Store manager Richard Farquhar confirmed that the fire was contained to the location's "seasonal goods" section in the corner by the restaurant.

The store filled with smoke and shoppers were fleeing as the fire department arrived at 8:57 p.m.

The firefighters contained the fire quickly thanks to the store's sprinkler system.

According to deputy Fire Chief Merlin Klassen, the investigation of the fire was handed over to the RCMP after the fire department was unable to determine a likely cause.

"The fire was determined to be suspicious in nature, and the RCMP have been reviewing surveillance tapes from inside the Wal-Mart," Klassen said.

The RCMP is asking anyone who might have seen anything suspicious near that part of the store on Saturday night to pass the information on to them or Crime Stoppers.

Dreilich said they are unable to release any other details of the nature of the fire yet.

"At this point it's still a fresh investigation with a lot of dynamics," she said.

She said video surveillance tapes had been made available to the police.

Farquhar said damage was contained to the area of the fire.

He said there was no assessed smoke damage, but some merchandise burned and there was some water damage from the sprinklers. He did not want to comment on the dollar amount.

He was also unable to comment on the financial impact of being closed on a Sunday less than two weeks before Christmas.

The store re-opened at 12:45 p.m. Monday, according to Farquhar, and he credits the fast recovery to the store's employees and emergency crews.

"We had a great team, they did an awesome job," he said, adding that he was thankful for the speedy response from the fire department and a couple of businesses in the community.