Festival Shoprite Evacuated for Roof Fire

The in Festival was evacuated shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday after smoke was seen inside the grocery store as well as on the roof.

There was no damage caused by what Chief Bill Snyder described as "roofing debris on fire."

Firefighters from , Abingdon and Joppa-Magnolia volunteer fire companies responded to the scene and used two extinguishers to squash the smoke. Neither store employees nor firefighters reported seeing flames.

"It [was] more of a precautionary thing than anything else," Assistant Store Director Mark Gearhart said. "I never saw anything."

One store employee was treated by EMS personnel for complications unrelated to the fire, Snyder said.

Dozens of Shoprite employees and customers waited in the parking lot for about 20 minutes as four engines and three trucks responded to the incident.