Wegmans temporarily evacuated as wildfire smoke enters ventilation system

City firefighters and UPMC paramedics were dispatched to Wegmans about 3:10 p.m. Thursday when a haze of smoke started to fill the supermarket. There was no fire. PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

Using the city's tower truck, firefighters checked the ventilation system on the roof of Wegmans on Thursday, but found no problem. PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

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City firefighters and UPMC paramedics were dispatched to Wegmans about 3:10 p.m. Thursday when a haze of smoke started to fill the supermarket. There was no fire. PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

Using the city's tower truck, firefighters checked the ventilation system on the roof of Wegmans on Thursday, but found no problem. PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

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Wegmans was temporarily evacuated and city firefighters were dispatched to the supermarket at 201 William St. when a haze of smoke started to fill parts of the store about 3:10 p m. Thursday.

The haze was all due to the outdoor hazardous air-quality condition brought about by smoke from the wildfires in Canada, city fire Platoon Chief Greg Delany said.

Some of the smoke, which has blanketed much of the skies throughout the country, including Lycoming County, apparently entered the store through the ventilation system, “but it certainly wasn’t enough to activate any of the smoke alarms” in the supermarket.

Other than checking the store’s ventilation system on the roof, which was working properly, “there was nothing else we could do,” Delany explained.

There was no fire and there were no reports of illness in the store, he said.