Employees talk about Walmart distribution center fire in Plainfield
PLAINFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — On Thursday, some employees shared their concerns about the massive fire that happened a day earlier at the Walmart distribution center in Plainfield and how grateful they were to have made it out safely.
“My team were … are safe and I’m happy for that,” said Mario Romero, an employee.
How the blaze got started Wednesday still wasn’t clear, but, luckily, the 1,000 employees at this Walmart distribution center made it out safely. A firefighter received what was described as a minor injury.
Some employees say the lack of injuries was thanks to some emergency training the employees had just a few days before Wednesday’s fire.
“We thought it was another training until we were out and we saw the black smoke coming out from the roof,” Romero said.
“We didn’t see smoke when we were outside and then when we heard the noise, which was like a crisp explosion, that’s when we got scared and we all started running,” said Daniel Harris, an employee.
Harris moved from Venezuela to Indiana two years ago before starting his job in Walmart. He says he was on the second floor when he smelled smoke, but he’s not sure what started it.
“There is an area that is specifically for keeping chemicals and products related to chemicals, and that area is always safeguarded and, obviously, I feel like that’s what mostly affected,” Harris said.
Romero says he was on the first floor, so he got out a lot more quickly. Romero says Walmart employees still have jobs despite the loss and that they’re just waiting to learn more.
“They told us they would try to move us to a different building from Walmart,” Romero said.
Harris said, “These are things that happen and you have to face them with the best attitude, with the best course of action of each one and you have to keep in mind that the future will be better.”
Some employees told News 8 they live from 30 to 40 minutes from the distribution center, but, thankfully, they got the help they needed. They say the company Walmart has been in communication.