The BJ’s Wholesale Club in Southern Pines was evacuated due to a gas leak Saturday. The store is not open yet to the public, but several employees and construction workers were inside at the time of the incident.
According to Southern Pines Assistant Fire Chief Ken Skipper, the incident occurred in the maintenance room at the back of the building. A contractor was working in the room when a CO2 tank suddenly began releasing gas into the air.
Alarms began going off in the room and throughout the building, alerting the building occupants to the danger.
All staff and workers safely evacuated the building and no injuries were reported.
According to Assistant Chief Skipper, the large walk-in coolers and other refrigerator units throughout the store are cooled using CO2 gas whose tanks are contained in the maintenance room.
Responding to the incident were Southern Pines Fire & Rescue, Moore County EMS, and Southern Pines Police.
~Article and photos by Sandhills Sentinel Publisher B.J. Goodridge.
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