Walmart says it will continue to pay employees put out of work by Friday night's arson.
In a statement to CKAT, Adam Grachnik, Director, Corporate Affairs says, "Walmart will absolutely support our associates while the store is closed. They will be paid for their scheduled shifts."
See: Police seeking public help in Walmart arson
Friday evening police and fire departments responded to a fire at the North Bay Walmart store.
"Thankfully, all associates and customers are safe. The store is currently closed as we carry out the necessary clean-up and repairs. The store will reopen as soon as possible while we work with officials to ensure the stores are safe and up to the standards our customers expect and deserve," continues Grachnik.
"This will unfortunately impact many of our customers and associates in the middle of the pandemic. We are working closely with officials as they investigate. The safety of our associates and customers is a top priority at Walmart and we want to thank all first responders who attended that night."
Grachnik says Walmart is working on a plan to support its pharmacy customers.
North Bay Police and an investigator from the Ontario Fire Marshalls Office continue to investigate the origin of a fire at Walmart Friday night and are asking the public to help identify the arsonist.
At 9:31 p.m., a fire was started inside the Walmart store in North Bay.
The fire was contained and extinguished by the internal sprinkler system say police.
A witness emailed BayToday, "It’s funny to see all the chirping from Facebook 'armchair warriors'. I made an effort to get over there to use a fire extinguisher but the fire suppression kicked in literally in seconds. The people leaving were in a mad dash for the door and made it difficult to get over there too. However, the Walmart staff is to be commended. Handled the situation extremely well."
Video courtesy Lee Schuster.
