T.J. Maxx in Columbus opened for business as usual Wednesday morning despite a smoky closing the night before.
Fire Chief Duane Hughes said Columbus Fire and Rescue responded to the store on Old Aberdeen Road about 9 p.m. Tuesday night. While there wasn’t a fire, Hughes said a burned belt in an air conditioning unit had caused smoke to fill the building.
“The store employees were the only people in the store and had evacuated prior to Columbus Fire and Rescue arriving,” he wrote in a text to The Dispatch. “There was significant smoke in the building from the (air conditioning) unit belt burning, so horizontal ventilation was used to remove the smoke.”
After clearing the smoke, the fire department restored power to the store before leaving. Hughes said the employees reentered the building to close the store at 9:30 p.m.
Management at T.J. Maxx declined to comment and instead referred The Dispatch to the TJX Companies, Inc. media relations team.
Bethany Crocetti, global communications manager for TJX Companies, Inc., confirmed in an email to The Dispatch that the store’s closure was the result of a mechanical issue with the store’s HVAC unit.
“At T.J. Maxx, the safety of our associates and customers is important to us,” Crocetti wrote. “… All customers and associates were safely evacuated. The store was open today for regular business. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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