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Walmart Supercenter in Augusta was briefly evacuated Saturday when a fire alarm sounded. Fire officials determined that there was no fire and shopping was able to resume within a half hour. Photo courtesy of from Sara Gagne/Augusta Neighborhood Watch Facebook page

AUGUSTA — The Walmart in Augusta was evacuated at 3 p.m. on Saturday due to the activation of a fire alarm, officials said.

The Augusta Fire Department responded to the Walmart Supercenter at 201 Civic Center Drive and by 3:20 p.m., the scene was cleared.

According to the fire department, the fire alarm was triggered by a mechanism within the sprinkler system and not because of a fire. The sprinklers did not go off.

It is unknown at this time how many shoppers were evacuated, but shopping was able to resume by 3:30 p.m.

The Walmart Supercenter store manager, who would only identify himself as Joel, declined to confirm information or answer additional questions. A corporate spokesperson confirmed that customers evacuated out of “an abundance of caution” and confirmed that the store resumed normal operations within 20 minutes of the alarm going off.

 

Emily Duggan is a staff writer for the Kennebec Journal. She graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of New Hampshire, where she was a news editor and staff writer for The New Hampshire....