Heavy Smoke Evacuates Wegman's

A fire in Wegman's Asian food prep section forced the Northborough Crossing supermarket to evacuate on Tuesday, fire Capt. Robert P. Theve said.

The supermarket's prepared foods section remained closed Tuesday afternoon, while the rest of the store was open, Theve said.

The store's fire alarm sounded at 9:51 a.m., he said.

The sprinkler system and hood suppression system extinguished the fire, Theve said.

However, there was "a significant smoke condition in the building," prompted the evacuation, he said.

No injuries were reported, he said.

Firefighters left the scene about 12:30 p.m., he said.

Wegman's employees directed customers away from the affected areas after the incident.

Wegman's issued a statement, and updates, about the incident.

"At approximately 10 am this morning there was a small kitchen fire at our Northborough store. Though the fire was small, it triggered the sprinkler system and created smoke in the prepared foods area and other nearby departments.   The store was safely evacuated, and the Northborough Fire Department responded immediately," Director of Media Relations Jo Natale said.

"At approximately 11 am, non-perishable (grocery, dairy, frozen) departments and the pharmacy reopened for business.   Other departments will reopen once they are thoroughly inspected by the Health Department and all necessary clean-up is complete.  For additional details, please contact the Northborough Fire Department.

"Our produce department is now open.