The Nacogdoches Walmart will be closed for an undetermined amount of time after a man set a fire in the store around midnight Sunday, according to Terry Westmoreland, Battalion Chief for the Nacogdoches Fire Department.
Westmoreland said the fire was started with a cigarette lighter in the clothing department at the store on North Street. Specifically, underwear was ignited.
“It was a good fuel source. Hundred percent cotton. Cotton stacked up on cotton on wire racks. It was like cooking chicken on a grill,” said Westmoreland.
Officers found a person of interest still inside the store and, after speaking with the man, took him into custody. Scott Adam Gilbert, 38, of Strong Union, Arkansas, was charged with second-degree arson in connection with the fire.
Westmoreland said he questioned Gilbert, who eventually confessed to lighting the fire.
No one was injured. Westmoreland attributes that to the quick action of store employees.