Fire causes evacuation in Walmart

A fire Thursday in the Havre Walmart was contained to a small area with no injuries, and the store is open for business this morning, but with some services limited.

Havre Fire responded with one engine and one ambulance at 5:39 p.m. Thursday to a report of a fire at the Walmart on the 3500 Block of U.S. Highway 2 West.

Fire Chief Nathan Courtnage said when Havre Fire arrived people were being evacuated from the store. The fire, he added, had started in a section of shelving containing pillows and not only was contained there but also had pretty much been put out by staff and customers. Firefighters investigated the site to make sure the fire was fully out before clearing the scene at 6:41 p.m., and Courtnage added that no one was injured in the incident.

Hill County Undersheriff Stan Martin said that the fire is being investigated, and arson is suspected, but they likely won’t know the cause for some time.

The fire did an estimated $1,500 worth of damage to merchandise, Courtnage said, but a company loss prevention team would have to assess the smoke damage to the store and its contents to determine what would have to be replaced.

“Smoke can penetrate anything,” he said.

Store personnel contacted this morning said they cannot comment on services or recovery from the fire.

A post on the Havre Walmart Facebook page said that the store is open, but “new online orders are not available until Sunday, to give us an opportunity to restock. If you have an order that you need to pick up, please contact our OPD team. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

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Havre Daily News reporter Patrick Johnston contributed to this article.