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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
RCMP have arrested a 17-year-old male believed to be responsible for causing Wal-Mart's doors to close on Saturday when what is being described as a small fire set off alarms and a section of the store's sprinkler system.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said the building was safely evacuated and that the fire was contained in the mens' bathroom.

The fire is believed to have been set approximately an hour before RCMP received reports of the arson at 8 p.m.

"There was a fire set in the washroom and when the fire department got there, the sprinklers had mostly got it out," said Van Tighem.

"The store was evacuated efficiently and they put out the rest of it and left it for the Wal-Mart people to clean it up," the mayor said, adding that it was not the entire store's sprinkler systems that were triggered, just the bathroom's.

"They placed some paper products on fire and the sprinklers went off and then the fire department showed up and everybody lived happily ever after," said Van Tighem. "As far as I know, it was just the toilet paper."

Van Tighem credits the store's emergency alarm system and procedures for containing the fire and ensuring everybody got out safely.

"With the sprinklers it was pretty quickly over, so it was minimized," said Van Tighem.

It is unknown how many shoppers were present when the fire was set or what the estimated cost is due to the smoke and water damage.

"Yellowknife RCMP attended the scene and observed damage to the toilet roll dispenser and wall of one bathroom stall, as well as some water damage from the sprinkler system. Thankfully, there were no injuries in this incident," stated Const. Kathy Law in a press release from the RCMP.

The release states that during an investigation, police were able to determine the identity of the 17-year-old male responsible. The suspect's name cannot be released because he is a young offender.

The individual was located and arrested on Sunday, is charged with arson and has been released from custody. "We're co-operating with anything (RCMP) need from us and we're more than happy to give them any additional information they may need from us," said Michael Wells,

the store's co-manager.

"Everyone on location was okay ... We are always striving to make sure our customers are safe when they come to shop in our store," said Wells.

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