Catches Fire in Possible Accident at Walmart

The flare that went off at the Chardon Walmart on Nov. 22 may have gone off accidentally, Chardon Police Chief Scott Niehus said in a Nov. 25 interview.

A flare was lit at the Meadowlands Drive supercenter around 5 p.m. Friday, the Chardon Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post. While one person was burned, there was no need to go to the hospital. Niehus later confirmed that the injury was minor.

Police were dispatched at 5:02 p.m. and arrived on the scene a short time later, the chief said.

“We believe this is accidental, but this is still under investigation,” he said, noting that the Geauga County District Attorney’s Office should review the case for potential criminal charges, but no such charges exist at this time.

“(The flare) created a huge flash when it went off and then it was extinguished pretty quickly,” he said. “I don’t believe he even turned on the sprinkler system.”

The official said that the flare was fired in the sports equipment section, adding that the person who fired it was looking at a distress flare for boating.

“I know they took it to look at it and it allegedly exploded,” he said. “After this incident, they stayed there, cooperated with the officer, and apologized profusely. “I don’t think they expected what happened to happen.”

Niehus said there was no damage estimate in the incident report.

“It looks like a danger sign. And it looks like it bounced off the (concrete) ground,” he said. “So it doesn’t look like it did any significant damage.”

Walmart did not have to evacuate or close due to the incident, but Niehus warned the situation could have been worse.

“This could have been a really close call. “I mean, what happened there was very serious,” he said.

He added that the store was relatively busy when the flare was fired.

“We’re lucky it didn’t hit anyone,” he said.