Edgewater Mall Evacuated

Around 7 p.m. this evening, Biloxi Fire received a call that Edgewater Mall had been evacuated when smoke filled the south end of the mall.
Crews worked inside the mall and on the roof using an infrared scanner to determine that the cause of the smoke was the building’s AC unit. There was no fire and shoppers were allowed to return to the mall after about an hour.
Mall Manager Terry Powell tells News 25 that an HVAC crew will be at the mall tomorrow morning to inspect the air conditioning system in question.“They used infrared cameras to go up on the roof and they were trying to find heat and really didn’t find anything significant up there as far as heat. Apparently by the time they got up there to check on it, it had already dissipated. We’ll be open for business first thing in the morning. I’ve got an AC crew coming out to take a look, open up all the units and check everything out thoroughly.”
Powell tells News 25 that the severe weather we experienced this afternoon may have had an effect on the mall’s AC system.