(Staff and customers leaving Walmart on Saturday, October 24, 2026 after a fire inside the store)
Questions remain about the evacuation of Walmart in Cobourg after a fire in the store’s electronics department on Saturday, October 24, 2026, with one shopper questioning why the fire alarm was not sounding as customers were told to leave.
Three people told Today’s Northumberland they were instructed by Walmart employees to evacuate the building but did not hear a fire alarm before exiting.
The incident occurred at Walmart, located at 73 Strathy Road, where Cobourg Fire Department crews were dispatched at 4:28 p.m. after Peterborough Fire Department, which handles dispatching for Northumberland County fire departments, issued the initial call at 4:26 p.m.
Dispatch reported a fire in the electronics section, advising that it had been started by a paper shredder.
“Smoke and flames visible — building to be evacuated,” dispatch stated.
While firefighters were responding, dispatch also advised that the fire alarm monitoring agency had received “multiple alarm hits.”
Police and paramedics were also dispatched to the scene.
Upon arrival, firefighters were advised that the store was being evacuated and that the unit involved in the fire had been taken outside by the manager.
Firefighters also reported that the alarm had been activated.
However, accounts from shoppers have raised questions about when the alarm was activated and whether customers were adequately alerted to the emergency.
Cobourg resident Morgan Dupuis was shopping with her family when an employee approached her and told her there was a fire and that she needed to leave.
Dupuis subsequently recorded a video while exiting the store. In the background, no audible fire alarm can be heard.
“There is a fire in Walmart and there’s no fire alarms going off, and we are all supposed to evacuate,” Dupuis said in the video. “This is crazy in Cobourg, Ontario.”
She questioned how customers were expected to know there was a fire if the alarm was not sounding.
“Like no one knows that there’s a fire going on and it’s completely dangerous,” she said. “It’s horrible. Like somebody needs to do something.”
Dupuis also questioned why there were not employees stationed at the front doors to explain the situation to customers.
In an interview with Today’s Northumberland on Sunday, Dupuis described being shocked by what she experienced.
“I was at Walmart. I was shopping with my family and I went to — I was at the back of the store and I walked past an employee and she gave me a dirty look like I should have known what was going on,” Dupuis said.
The employee then told her there was a fire and she needed to evacuate.
“I had asked where the fire alarms are and why they aren’t going off and no one could answer.”
Dupuis said she began telling other people that there was a fire and that they needed to leave.
“So, I made myself clear and told everyone that there is a fire in Walmart, that we need to evacuate, and there is no fire alarms going off. And how disappointed I am.”
What concerned her further was that customers were still entering the store while she was making her way toward the exit.
“There was still people walking in from outside as I was walking towards the front doors,” she said.
Dupuis said she called attention to the situation and urged someone to stop people from entering.
“I said like there’s a fire, somebody finally went to the front doors and stopped people from coming in. But still at that point, there was no fire alarm (activated).”
Asked whether she believed customers should have known to evacuate when an employee told them there was a fire, Dupuis agreed that leaving immediately was the appropriate response.
However, she questioned why there had been no audible warning.
“I was completely shaken up,” she said. “I was so mad because I was shocked. There was no fire alarm to say to people — like this is an emergency.”
Dupuis said she was concerned about what could have happened had the fire been more serious.
“How about if it was a bigger than what it was and there were still people in that store? It could have been a disaster.”
Reflecting on the experience, Dupuis said the evacuation felt chaotic and left her questioning the purpose of a fire alarm if customers were not alerted when an emergency occurred.
“It was just chaotic and I just don’t understand why the fire alarms weren’t going off. That’s what they’re there for,” she said.
“Like we were raised from when we were a kid that if a fire alarm — if a fire is in a building and a fire alarm goes off, we evacuate. And now all of a sudden the rules are being changed.”
Acting Cobourg Fire Chief Kevin Ashfield said that if there is a fire in a building, the fire alarm should be activated immediately and people should exit the building in an orderly fashion.
Today’s Northumberland contacted Walmart Canada several times throughout the week seeking comment about the incident and the concerns raised by shoppers.
No response had been received at the time of publication.
Cobourg Fire Department crews remained at the scene until 5:46 p.m.
Questions remain about the timing of the alarm activation, how customers were notified of the fire and what measures were in place to prevent people from entering the store while an evacuation was underway.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
