STORE REMAINS CLOSED
North Sydney store remains closed after flare incident on Monday
Flare set off Monday evening in Walmart in North Sydney.
A Walmart Canada official says there’s no timeline as to when the company’s store will reopen in North Sydney.
The North Sydney Walmart has been closed since Monday after someone set off a flare inside the building, reportedly between freezer units in the retail grocery section of the store.
“We have to go through a special process, the health inspector needs to go through and determine what needs to be disposed of and that will take some time,” said Alex Roberton, senior director of corporate affairs for Walmart Canada.
“When that’s done, we restock the store and reopen when we know it’s safe for our customers.
“We generally don’t try to provide a timeline (for reopening) because you never know what you’re going to uncover, so we want to respect the health inspector’s process.”
Cape Breton Regional Police, along with the North Sydney Volunteer Fire Department and the Cape Breton Fire Services Hazmat team, responded to the King Street location around 4:30 p.m. Monday to reports of orange smoke inside the building.
Upon arrival, customers and employees had been evacuated from Walmart as well as parts of the North Sydney Mall.
Firefighters entered the store and located a smoke signal canister. The Hazmat team confirmed the smoke to be nontoxic.
“The focus (right now) is on identifying the product where there might be a health risk,” said Roberton.
Cape Breton Regional Police are continuing to investigate the incident. Tuesday, police were working with store officials as they assessed the damage and reviewed video surveillance in an attempt to identify the suspect or suspects.
The North Sydney Walmart advised customers of the location’s closure with signs on its front doors, Wednesday, noting “Attention customers. Due to reasons beyond our control, we are temporarily closed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact regional police at 902-563-5151 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers.