Kitchener woman faces arson charges after $3M fire ignited in toilet paper aisle at Walmart

KITCHENER - Police have charged a woman with setting a $3-million fire by igniting toilet paper inside a Walmart store in west Kitchener.

Thursday's small fire was quickly put out, the Kitchener Fire Department says. But it filled the store with smoke which caused the damage. No one was reported hurt.

Last October three local Walmarts were hit by fires set in toilet paper aisles, including the same store hit Thursday. Police launched a search for two men.

The latest fire was reported just after 9 p.m. at the Sunrise Centre shopping plaza at 1400 Ottawa St. S.

Waterloo Regional Police say a garbage bin was also ignited outside a different business at the plaza. Firefighters extinguished both fires.

Police say a suspect who fled the scene was later found and arrested. The Kitchener woman, 42, is charged with two counts of arson, mischief, theft and obstructing police. She was held in jail pending a bail hearing.

It's definitely unfortunate. A large store like that there's definitely some risk involved with the amount of people that are in there," said Scott Jones, an assistant platoon chief with the Kitchener Fire Department.

Local fires set last October were similar to fires set at three Walmart stores in Winnipeg and another fire set in Alberta.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 519-570-9777 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-84777.