Georgia Walmart shoppers flee fire before roof collapse

A video has captured concerned shoppers fleeing a Walmart store in Georgia after a fire broke out inside that eventually led to a partial roof collapse.

The four-alarm blaze erupted in the Peachtree City store around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to Fox5 Atlanta. 

“While fighting the fire with a large amount of water, they report the structural members from the roof began to collapse on them, so the decision was made to back out and the incident commander made the decision to go defensive and fight the fire from the outside of the building,” Peachtree City Fire Department Assistant Chief Will Harbin told the station. 

Video taken from inside the store shows panicked shoppers making their way to its exits while an inferno can be seen developing in the background. 

A rack of merchandise in the store had caught fire and the cause of the blaze is still under investigation, Fox5 Atlanta reports. 

Arson investigators are reported to have arrived on-scene.

Police officers who were the first to respond were overcome by smoke and some had to be hospitalized as a result, the station adds.  

There were no reports of injuries among Walmart staff and customers, while the full extent of the damage is under review.