RANTOUL, Ill. (WAND) – Firefighters say a cigarette discarded by a Walmart employee caused bales of cardboard boxes to catch fire outside of the Rantoul store.
The News-Gazette reports security video showed one of the workers placing a cigarette in a cardboard pallet. Firefighters say they came to the scene before 8 a.m. Tuesday and found flames coming from about a half-dozen bales.
Fire Chief Ken Waters told the newspaper the situation was “a sloppy mess”, adding that foam used to put the fire out made it look like a “large snowball fight” happened. A backhoe had to tear through the pallets and get to the fire after it started.
Crews from Thomasboro’s fire department joined in the response effort, which involved two fire engines and a rescue unit.
The Walmart store did not take any damage. Police and firefighters are not planning any action against the worker, the newspaper says. Store leaders will decide what to do about the situation.
