Bodycam footage shows officers evacuating customers during a fire at Walmart

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. (CBS46) - Body camera footage shows a police officer running around a Walmart that caught fire Wednesday night helping to evacuate shoppers in the building.

Peachtree City emergency personnel responded to the Walmart on West Highway 54 at approximately 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday. Police officers helped to evacuate the building while fire departments from Coweta County, Fayetteville and Fayette County arrived on the scene.

Firefighters battled the fire throughout the night and it was finally extinguished around 4 a.m. Although the store’s sprinkler system did function as designed, the store suffered extensive damage to the interior and the roof. There is no current timeline on when the story will be reopened.

The video shows the officer running through the store on Highway 54.

Thick black smoke filled the night sky. Fire crews say initially they tried to fight the flames from inside but then the interior of the building started collapsing so they took a more defensive approach from outside to get the blaze under control.

According to fire officials, three Peachtree City police officers were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

“Three officers made entry to the building to help facilitate evacuation and were affected by smoke inhalation. They were transported to Fayette Piedmont Hospital where they were treated and discharged later that evening,” said Lt. Brad Williams, Peachtree City Police Department.

Investigators believe the fire was set intentionally.

Three officers were injured after the ceiling collapsed, according to officials.

CBS46 reached out to Walmart for comment and received the following statement:

Peachtree City police say they are aware of a recent Tik-Tok trend involving Walmart fires but say they have no information to suggest that this was a challenge.

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