Smoke smell but no fire at Family Dollar/Dollar Tree

Red Oak Firefighters responded to a fire call at the Family Dollar/Dollar Tree at 1205 N. Broadway at 419 p.m. July 7.

According to Red Oak fire Chief John Bruce, firefighters were dispatched to the scene in regards to a reported sound of an explosion with the smell of smoke being inside the building. The building was evacuated as a precaution.

Fire crews arrived on scene and reported nothing showing. The aerial was deployed to the roof so that the HVAC’s systems could be examined – no issue was located with those units. Law Enforcement on scene stated there was an odor of smoke and possible light haze within the structure. The interior was examined, including circuit breakers, water heating system, cooling units, etc., with nothing showing indications of malfunction of failure of equipment.

Fire crews remained on scene for approximately a half an hour. The structure contained no smoke and with all systems being checked with thermal imaging cameras, as well as the fire notification system holding in the normal operational mode – the structure was ultimately turned back over to management and advised to call if anything changed. No injuries were reported to emergency services personnel or citizens.

The Red Oak Fire Dept wishes to extend its appreciation to the store staff, management personnel, and patrons that evacuated the building and assisted fire crew personnel as needed.

The Fire Department was also assisted at the scene by the Red Oak Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, and Montgomery County Communications.