Quick response by GFD limits damage at Walmart Distribution Center

Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 9:49 AM

By Paul Gable

A quick response by the Greencastle Fire Department and other agencies played a huge role in limiting damage Wednesday morning at Walmart Distribution Center.

Firefighters were dispatched to the Greencastle facility, 333 Warren Drive, and upon arrival, firefighters found smoke coming from the baler building and marked it as a working fire.

"It is very important that the fire was contained to that area. It being contained to the baler kept it from spreading to the roof or any other area of the building. There are two balers in that room and they collect shredded cardboard from other areas in the warehouse through a vacuum system. The balers compress the shredded cardboard together into large bales that can be recycled," Greencastle Fire Chief Rob Frank told The Putnam County Post.

The building was evacuated as crews arrived and no injuries were reported. An investigation determined the fire was unintentional in nature.

Joining Greencastle Fire on the scene were the Greencastle Police, Putnam County EMS and the Cloverdale Fire Department.

Frank credited the fast response as a major reason why the fire was contained.

"It was a great response by our firefighters. They showed up, went to work and quickly extinguished the fire. Fires in warehouses can be extremely challenging and everything went really well. Wal-Mart Distribution did a great job of evacuating their associates and making sure they were all safe and accounted for. Their managers, Asset Protection team, and maintenance crews are a huge help to us because of their knowledge of the warehouse and operations of the machinery. It was a great job by all," Frank said.