‘People are running out;’ 911 calls detail customers, employees evacuating Walmart fire

BEAVERCREEK — Beavercreek fire crews rushed to a Walmart after multiple 911 calls came into the dispatch center.

Crews were dispatched at 5:45 p.m. Monday evening, on reports of a commercial structure fire, according to Beavercreek Police Captain Scott Molnar.

At the time of the fire, multiple people called 911 to report what they saw.

“There’s a big fire going on…In the back of the store, everybody is running out of the store,” one caller told dispatchers.

As soon as the dispatcher answered, another caller quickly said, “Walmart is on fire.”

The Walmart is near the Mall of Fairfield Commons at 3360 Pentagon Blvd.

When asked where the fire was, one person said, “The craft department has flames.”

Another dispatcher asked if the fire was in the electronics section, and that caller said yes.

On Tuesday, Molnar confirmed that the fire started in the craft section.

Customers and employees quickly evacuated the store as emergency alarms sounded off.

“The whole inside of the store is on fire, one of the aisles went up in flames and it’s spreading,” one caller said.

“People are just fleeing out of this place…I’m in the parking lot and people are running out of the store,” another caller said.

Everyone was able to evacuate the store safely and no one was injured, Molnar said.

The fire was contained by Walmart’s automatic sprinkler system and when the fire department arrived, they were able to fully extinguish it.

Beavercreek Police Department is investigating the incident as suspicious and has identified two juvenile suspects.

This investigation is ongoing.

It is unclear what kind of damage Walmart sustained.

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Beavercreek Walmart Fire (iWitness7)

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