Coal City Dollar General Did Not Ask Firefighters to Leave

Despite vocal opponents on the Coal City Dollar General Facebook page, Coal City Fire Protection District Chief James Sheldon wants people to know that the command staff set up at the business was not forced to leave, but rather left of its own accord.

Word was spreading rapidly on Facebook that the Dollar General in Coal City was denying firefighters the use of its restroom facilities and then asked the crew to leave its parking lot. While Sheldon said he doesn’t know all the details regarding firefighters not being able to use the restroom, he does know that the command staff was not told to move.

“I talked to the command staff today and they went in (to the Dollar General) very nicely and (the command staff) made the recommendation to move because they knew it was getting close to the time frame they were getting ready to open for business and obviously people were going to need to go somewhere to get products and supplies that they needed because a lot of places didn’t have ice or anything like that,” Sheldon said.

Sheldon said he’s not pleased that misinformation like this was being spread.

“It’s kind of a black eye for this whole thing,” Sheldon said. “Nobody was seriously injured. There were no fatalities. Everything was done in an organized fashion and we’re trying to help people get their life back together and then you’ve got this person throw a monkey wrench in there. It’s very aggravating.”

A post on the Coal City Fire Protection District’s Facebook page urges residents not to boycott the business, which is what many posts on Facebook said they would do.

“We ask that you not boycott this store due to this miscommunication as it will only affect our (community’s) ability to rebuild,” the post states. “The Dollar General has been (extremely) generous and supportive with donating resources and supplies to the relief effort.”

Mary Kathryn Colbert, a spokesperson for Dollar General, said the business is committed to supporting the communities people call home and to providing assistance to first responders during a natural disaster or other emergencies.

“Dollar General stores have donated bottled water to the local fire departments and are collecting donations to support the recovery efforts related to the tornadoes that recently hit near Coal City, Illinois,” Colbert said in a release from the company. ”Dollar General also served as the location for the temporary command center for the search and rescue efforts. The decision to move the command post was made by local law enforcement. While stationed in our parking lot, firefighters and other first responders are allowed the use of our restroom facilities. Dollar General strives to assist those who protect and serve in our communities, and we regret any misunderstanding that may have occurred.”