Fire damages Franklin Walmart; 10-year-old boy taken into custody
Walmart fire, 10-year-old taken into custody
Franklin police said a 10-year-old Milwaukee boy was taken into custody after a fire inside Walmart.
FRANKLIN, Wis. - The Walmart store in Franklin was damaged by a fire on Monday night, July 14. A 10-year-old boy from Milwaukee was taken into custody for questioning.
Fire at Franklin Walmart (Credit: Joshua Hall)
Arson charges will be refereed to the Milwaukee County Juvenile Justice Center.
Fire inside Walmart
What we know:
Crews were dispatched to the scene shortly before 9 p.m. for the report of a fire inside the store, at the west end of the building.
When crews arrived at the scene, they found the occupants evacuating and heavy smoke and visible flames inside the store.
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A three-second video taken by a Walmart shopper shows just how quickly the flames intensified.
Investigators haven't said how the fire started.
‘I was shocked, honestly’
What they're saying:
April King is a merchandising contractor at the store. She believes the fire was in the party supplies aisle.
"That was like, the party aisle. What’s going to set fire there?" King asked. "I was shocked, honestly. Because it's like, you know, I’ve never seen a random fire like that in a place you wouldn’t associate with a fire."
The building’s automatic fire sprinkler system was activated and assisted in controlling the spread of the fire and limiting smoke production.
(Courtesy of Joshua Hall)
Preliminary damage estimates are still being evaluated. However, extensive smoke damage was noted throughout the structure, resulting in the loss of merchandise estimated to be several million dollars, fire officials say.
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"I don’t understand how a 10-year-old could even, one, think to do that and then how did he get the equipment to do that," King said. "Customers are impacted and employees at Walmart are impacted because they can’t work. So yeah, it is a huge impact to the community, definitely."
Dig deeper:
The store will remain closed until a full safety assessment and damage evaluation is complete.
No injuries were reported.
"Really glad that no one was hurt," King said. "Property can be replaced."
Walmart responds
What they're saying:
A Walmart spokesperson responded with the following statement:
"For pharmacy needs, we’re directing customers to our 27th Street Store located at 3355 South 27th Street in Milwaukee, WI. The store’s Facebook page will share updates regarding reopening details."
The Source: Information in this post was provided by the Franklin Fire Department.