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M ° y4 ^ importer ^
Off-duty fireman hailed
for dousing Walmart fire
By Steve Reece
stevereece@gmail.com
What started as an ordi
nary excursion to Walmart
to pick up a few items
became an action-filled af
ternoon for a Forsyth family
last Wednesday Wendy
Harvil told the Reporter she
went to the store with her
husband, Brandt, a captain
with the Henry County Fire
Department, and her step
daughter for a few baking
items. After a few minutes,
they separated, and Wendy
was alone two aisles away
when she suddenly heard
a loud pop that sounded
like breaking glass and saw
a woman walking rapidly
towards her. Behind her,
a large group of Walmart
employees was running to
a fire in the sporting goods
department. She asked one
Capt. Brandt Harvil
of the employees what was
going on and was told the
woman had tried to break
into the gun cabinet and set
afire.
Wendy could see big
billows of smoke pouring
from an area stocked with
air filters and box fans.
She said she then started
walking towards the fire
wondering what was going
on, but employees started
telling everyone there
was a fire and to leave the
building. She then headed
towards the exit along with
other customers who stayed
amazingly calm while
getting out as fast as they
could. Once outside, she
saw her stepdaughter and
asked her what was happen
ing. Her stepdaughter said
she didn’t know but that she
had just helped an elderly
lady in a motorized cart
going in the wrong direc
tion find her way to the exit.
She was afraid the woman
was going to go into the
fire. When Wendy asked,
“Where’s your daddy?” her
stepdaughter responded,
“He went into the fire.”
Wendy then went to one
of the Walmart managers
and told them her hus-
ARSON
Continued from page 1A
ing filters on fire. Video of
the fire shows its leaping
over the top of the Walmart
shelves.
“It could have been bad,”
said Herndon.
But manager Dennis Kent
and off-duty fireman Brandt
Harvil saw the blaze and
used fire extinguishers to
knock it down before it got
out of control.
“They kept a small fire
from becoming a large fire,”
said Herndon.
As the fire raged, Walmart
employees directed all cus
tomers to evacuate the store
while Miley made her way
to her car.
Dispatch put out a
description of a woman
wearing short shorts, a gray
shirt and gray shoes who
ran from Walmart after
setting the fire. A Walmart
employee stated the woman,
later identified as Miley, had
rim from the garden center
and into the woods between
the store and North Lee
Street Extension.
Monroe County deputy
Shania Hawkins was as
sisting the Forsyth Police
Department and parked
her patrol car on the other
side of the woods behind
the Days Inn on North
Lee Street and saw Miley
emerge from the woods and
ordered her to stop. Miley
then started running on
foot, crossed the road and
ran up the embankment to
the Days Inn parking lot.
Hawkins yelled for her to
stop but she continued to
flee, and the deputy pulled
her taser and told Miley she
was going to be tased if she
did not stop. Miley then
cut across and ran through
the hallway, up two flights
of stairs with Hawkins
close behind. They turned
a corner, heading towards
the middle of the hotel and
Hawkins reminded her of
the taser and Miley stopped
and went to her knees.
Hawkins ordered her to
get on her stomach with
her hands up and she was
handcuffed. Hawkins then
took Miley back to Walmart
and handed her over to the
custody of the Forsyth Po
lice Department and will be
charging her with obstruc
tion. She was also charged
with arson, attempt to
commit felony (2 charges),
no insurance, and driving
without a license.
Ironically, Hawkins was
also the deputy who ar
rested a Forsyth teenager
charged with killing another
teen in the same store in
January.
Walmart reopened the
grocery side of the store on
Thursday, April 28 because
they had enough new
inventory for the grocery
aisles. But they weren’t
expected to open the other
end of the store until Friday,
May 6. Herndon said his
firemen responded imme
diately and helped overhaul
the store, but said Kent
and Harvil had the fire out
by the time they arrived.
Herndon said the sprin
kler system never went off
because the fire didn’t reach
that high.
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band was in there and the
manager asked her if he was
the man in the red t-shirt?
When she told them he was,
they said, “Oh, my God!
He’s in there putting out the
fire!” They added that man
agers and store employees
were inside passing Brandt
fire extinguishers they were
retrieving from all over
the store. It took several
extinguishers for him to
douse the blaze which was
out before any structural
damage was done to the
building and the sprinkler
system never came on.
Wendy was quite sur
prised to learn that her
husband was inside and
started getting anxious
and nervous, but she knew
he was well-trained and
a professional firefighter.
When he finally emerged
from the building he was
“They saved that from
being a whole lot worse,”
said Herndon. “I hope she’s
found guilty and we don’t
have to worry about her
anymore.”
Miley was charged with
driving without insurance
and on a suspended license
on Jan. 26. And back on
Nov. 30,2021 she had been
arrested on drug charges.
Also last year she was arrest
ed for drugs in Pike County
but the case was dismissed.
In 2014 she faced theft
charges in Spalding but the
case was also dismissed, ac
cording to law enforcement
sources.
covered from head to toe in
soot, ash, and white powder
from the fire extinguishers.
She immediately ran to him,
hugged him in relief, and
said, “Oh, my God! Are you
okay?” He answered, “Babe,
I was just doing my job.”
The fire was out. Smoke
was still pouring out of
the building as the Forsyth
police chief and Walmart
employees were congratu
lating him for saving the
store. The humble captain
simply responded, “Any
firefighter would’ve done
the same thing.” Wendy and
Brandt were married last
September.
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