Fire closes discount store

Photo: Google Street View

A small fire broke out Monday at the MTF Price Matters discount store in Vernon, after staff members noticed flames coming from a pallet of potato chips.

Employees ushered customers out of the store around 11:15 a.m. and the Vernon Fire Department quickly doused the flames.

“(The fire) was contained to the pallet, but there was extensive smoke damage throughout the whole building,” says Captain Reinhard Mann.

Fire investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the blaze, but Mann was reluctant to call the fire suspicious, adding that it is not considered to be an arson at this point in time.

The building was closed following the fire, and is expected to reopen towards the end of the week.