Smoke forces Walmart store to be evacuated

A smoking air-conditioning unit left shoppers and employees standing in the parking lot outside the Walmart in Palmetto Wednesday morning, rather than wandering the aisles.

North River Fire District crews were called to the Walmart on 10th Street East in Palmetto just before 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Fire Marshal Andrell Miller said a Walmart employee called to report smoke in the cash room inside the store. When firefighters arrived and began to look for the source, they found the smoke was coming from an air-conditioning unit on the roof above the room.

All store employees were accounted for and customers were outside when crews arrived. Miller said no one was injured and the fire alarm inside the store went off.

Chester Coulter, 86, of Palmetto, was doing his grocery shopping Wednesday morning when Walmart employees started ushering people to the front of the store.

Coulter said he didn’t hear an alarm, or see or smell any smoke but he left his cart of groceries inside and walked out to the parking lot.

“I don’t think there’s any problem,” Coulter said. “The worst part is standing in the cold wind.”

It was about 65 degrees outside the store around 8 a.m.

The air-conditioning unit that was smoking recently had been serviced, Miller said.

Customers and employees were able to go back inside the store shortly after 8 a.m.

This story was originally published October 25, 2017 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Smoke forces Walmart store to be evacuated."