Three Winnipeg Walmart stores were closed Thursday night after three separate fires that police are calling arson.
All three fires were small and put out by hand-held fire extinguishers, said city of Winnipeg fire officials.
The first fire hit the Empress Avenue location at 6:07 p.m., and the second was the Regent Avenue location at 7:19 p.m. In both cases, firefighters helped douse the small fires.
Global News has learned that there is extensive damage at the Regent location.
Read more: Walmart Canada making masks mandatory in all stores starting Aug. 12
The third fire happened at the McPhillips Street location, but that fire was already out when crews got there.
The Winnipeg police Major Crimes Unit is investigating all three fires as related arsons.
David Grachnik, Director of Corporate Affairs for Walmart Canada, said the McPhillips store is open, but the other two remain closed.
The corporation is carrying out “necessary clean-up and repairs and will reopen once this has been completed and approved by the Health Inspector. We are also working closely with police as they investigate the situation.
“The safety of our associates and customers is a top priority at Walmart and we want to thank all first responders who responded last night.”
Walmart was recently in the news for being the first major department store chain to mandate masks for all customers and staff.
Const. Jay Murray said the arsons do not appear to be related to Walmart’s mask mandate.
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