in December 2023 the day just after Christmas first responders figured it was just another day at work until they were about to be dispatched to a massive building fire in Sparta Wisconsin A female had made a trip to Walmart with a simple task in mind to pick up oatmeal and mayonnaise After quickly finding the item she needed she decided to take a detour through the aisles casually browsing items that caught her attention She soon found herself drawn toward the craft and fabric section an area she often frequented for art supplies and materials While browsing some art folders she reached into her pocket to call her mom Instead of finding her phone she felt a lighter and in a moment of impulse took it out and lit an artificial plant nearby Not realizing how quickly the fire would spread She panicked and hurried out of the area without telling anyone what had happened During the store's evacuation she took out her phone and quickly recorded the fire burning in the craft aisle yelling for people to leave What the [Music] Everybody everyone move from the area Everyone move from the area What began as a quick errand for oatmeal and mayonnaise soon turned into a $7.6 million disaster Get over Upon arriving the officer observed several people evacuating the building and quickly retrieved his fire extinguisher [Applause] Get everybody out Come on We got heavy smoke [Applause] During the quick sweep of the store they noticed thick smoke pouring from an area near the center of the building making the fire's location seem suspicious Let's just go I'm more worried about people Are they out i don't [Music] know Walking the sprinklers here Philanth Ethan Oh Jesus You're all right [Applause] Just sleep and make a little bit better over here Huh is everybody out i think everybody Yeah Okay you get out Just get out Yes sir Just let it go Yeah I'll grab this section I'm going to go down and I'll go that way Yeah Good All [Applause] right 457 Can you copy make sure everybody's out 48 I'm helping sleep here Yeah I'm in here with you I got the grocery cleared except for the far west aisle I cleared the back I told everybody get out Yeah Where the is it it's in the crash section but uh 30 Are you 102 he needs to get out of there That boy loves running into smoke He took that You went in that way I think L got everybody out I think everyone's out Ethan Ethan Ethan There's some sort of a sprinklers Sprinklers are going Yeah Oh there's water Yeah Badger buddy What was that is there anybody in the back room i went through the back Everybody was going out back You You should head outside Okay Oh it's nice down here I went through the back There was some guys and I tell everybody's out So I was young I don't know where Ethan is but Ethan was just on the radio He was all right We should not be in that thick anymore I don't think double check that Yeah Get everybody away from the front too cuz they're going to be coming in hot I'm looking at some dumb kids for this I told you Sarge I told you I told you Okay Come on Oh that's a lot for the pharmacy Yeah it's going It's got to be going in there Look at that Yeah [Applause] Y'all here Oh yeah she's rolling somewhere down Yep Should get some doors p like wedged open The hell's the difference [Applause] it's a fire exit Badger Don't even think about it Clear out that in front Yeah Wish we get some doors wedged open I don't know if that's me or it feels like it's getting warm in here I think that sprinkler system would be stuff getting all this stuff out of the way for this point we're going to Oh yeah it is getting warm down here Oh yeah they got everybody away from the front when they come streaming in No that's what he was telling Ethan to do This ain't good boss This ain't good I'm going to grab my car before I get in front of these doors here Okay I can't get too much searching done No I got It's getting worse in there It's going to help You want to take your block off that driveway ah never mind But I stop coming in Yeah I blocked one lane off You guys have the slightest clue what started it probably want to pull footage and make sure no one kids are doing something stupid in there I guess we definitely will We know like where it's like where it like busted the most was like where where we have artificial coral It's really bustable Yeah My fear is that some some kids did something stupid you know kind of worst case Yeah I mean impossible All right That's all you got that's it Need help dragging anything anywhere right there Bring it right there Bring it there Here Hold on Hold on Take this [Applause] Getting warm in here You want to flush it first nope No I'll be all right Come on It's been a while but I can still do it There's no injuries out here so we're good Okay During the fire 78 employees and 165 customers were inside but thankfully no one was injured However in different situations others may not be as fortunate when they unexpectedly become victim Water Yeah this sucks Just do uh back up Do uh Yep That's going to be addressed That's nice All right we're good This job's store manager Yep Uh I got his contact information on a dispatch I told him just to hang around over here in case chief needs something from him Yep Your guys street department in today should be bring up some barricades and just close it all up out of entrance Yeah I'll leave his name Let's go buddy What the is this deal which one where is Mike you see that i made a hider It's been a while You're getting You're getting the freaking tracking man Anybody knowing no Sounds like they're all yelling on the radio so the guys out here can't understand what I'm saying Are you going to need like any more room here for more trucks or anything um I wonder as far as you know Yeah Yeah Like fake flowers and stuff Yeah Where is he i don't know Everybody's I know Hey so our radio is not working I think it's every just yours dude It's probably something to do with the building I open those doors down there The main entrance ones Yeah there's there's a fire fire exit against that that uh west east wall Okay if you pop that open that thinks that's the closest one to the source of it Yeah You want me to try and sneak in you can't do anything You can't go in the building Back off Amy What are you doing trying to get you some paper coverage We'll get it They got it knocked down Worst case scenario this is dumb kid After the fire was contained police spoke with Sparta area fire chief who noted that the fire seemed sus and requested a review of the security footage We review the cameras I'd be real curious to see I am too when I got here was the location of it And Jake said that like something's wrong in the middle of the store There's there's there's nothing combustible in that uh alley that pile in that fabric section as far as anything that would ignited it I think either somebody put something in there flipped something in there so you know get it as slow as you can get it Yeah that's our plan As soon as we can get in that office we're going to go back Officers then contacted an asset protection employee to access the surveillance cameras While reviewing the footage they observed the suspect igniting the fire before casually walking around to assess the situation She was later seen standing outside the store among other customers appearing anxious and uncertain about where to go Eventually she made her way to a blue SUV watching the shitfest unfold before driving off shortly after first responders arrived A clear image of her face was captured from the security footage This photo was then forwarded to another officer who was able to positively identify her as 17-year-old Emma Smith using a school ID photo There's a fire right there Yeah Oh Christ That one hurt This person seems like they're acting off Looks back There's smoke right there No Bingo It almost looks like he's got they're wearing like one of those bomber hats Was that him i think so I think that's him right there right there Yep Yeah He's backing up just a little bit See right here by this guy He's on just behind him He's Yep There he is It looked like he had his phone out like he's taking a video I could have been on See if Ericen can reach up to some of his head kids and check their Snapchat feed Yep Right there That's an Oh [ __ ] Look if I've ever seen one You ain't a kid Oh boy What did I do definitely looks like a female It's a female Probably should refer this to school resource lab Got a video of it from inside Really who is it way after Holy mol Emma Smith from Street Total box right now is just over 7.6 million I mean it's it's going to be a total loss I don't know what's going to be saved Like for certain all of apparel is gone right that's gone Any of the food sitting out is gone Anything where sprinklers hit is gone So rough rough estimate right now we're 7.6 bill The value in the box currently fire chief He sounds like he might be contacting DCI so we might have to secure the building and tape it off for a crime scene So I'm going to be letting you know in a couple minutes [Music] Shutting the building down It's nobody's going anywhere till DCI gets here in a couple hours They're on their way from Madison now So this is now a crime scene we're considering Okay All right Approximately 4 hours after the fire police visited the address on file and saw the same blue SUV from the security footage parked outside Hello Hi I'm Detective Bray Is Emma home yes This is Sergeant Lotus Can we speak to her okay Uh what she do we will sit down and talk to you about it We'd like to have her down here also Fire Yeah Did she tell you about it she told me she was there shopping Okay If she can come down we'd like to talk to her Um she the one that started it Um she's a pos possibility Yeah As Emma came downstairs to see who was there She likely realized she was in deep [ __ ] Hi Hi Can you come down and chat with us for a second You want to have a seat i'm Detective Brad This is Sergeant Labus Were you Were you at Walmart today mhm Okay What did you go to Walmart for oatmeal and mayo Oatmeal and mayo Okay Did you go with anybody no You seem a little nervous What's going on because it scared me genuinely And she did come home in a panic What what scared you the fire Okay Where were you at when you saw it i was walking I was ready to go check out and I was in the ladies bra section and then someone was saying "Oh there's a fire." And then I saw it It started breaching the ceiling and then I said "Everyone move away Fire fire fire." I have a video if you want to see Okay Well Walmart has a lot of video cameras that a lot of them that pretty much cover the entire store Said that some people Okay So did you get your oatmeal in mail so I got him from Hansen instead So why were you over in the bras if you went there to get oatmeal and mayo because when I was going to check out in Did you have oatmeal and mayo in your hands mhm And then I set it down right where the refrigerator was in the selfch checkckout aisle There was one where it's not in there but it's like right outside of it and I put it there and then I walked out Okay When you were Why what why were you going through like the bra the section with the bras and stuff i always take a shortcut and plus I read on my hand that I needed socks Okay I know you got some for me but I usually like to wear black socks and so I was going to get those I didn't cuz you know that happened Okay Were you anywhere else in the store where would that have been i was looking at art bags in the art supply section Okay What else was in that aisle what do you mean what other items were in the aisle that you were in mark markers sticky notes just it was just typical art stuff Okay Were you in any other aisles i was in that aisle where it happened But what aisle is that that was the art section where the paints and stuff were Okay How do you know what happened there because I saw it when I How would you be able to see it because everyone was turning and pointing How would you be able to see what the aisle because when I was walking away the art bag section it was on this side not the other side by the clothes It was near where you would find home stuff I was looking at the art section and then I was going to walk away and then I went in the fabric section to the socks and the bras and then that's when someone said "Oh my god look there's a fire." And that's when I turned around And I made the stupid decision to just stay and videotape it instead of leaving And I watched it over multiple times And it's pretty clear to me that it was in that section Okay Did you see anybody else in the section where fabrics were and stuff like that no Nobody else was in there There was an old lady I think with her family and they were near it and then this other person that I was standing near was saying everyone move from the area and then I started shouting that too and you can see it in the video Do you have the video mhm You still have it mhm Can I come with you sure So she's on camera walking out of the aisle like moments before the fire starts And nobody else is in the aisle Not that we can see And nobody exits the aisle from either side And her demeanor coming in and leaving are very different What the Everybody Everyone move from the area That's me shouting that everyone from the area There was nobody else in the aisle with the fabrics and stuff when you were down there except for an old lady and her family I would presume and then everyone that's when everyone started walking out the door and I followed with that Okay So do you remember where you were right before people started saying there was a fire i was walking where those home items were I was walking out of that aisle after I was done looking at beads and stuff Okay And then that's when I went to go look at the art bags in the other section And then I walked out went near this other old lady who was shopping And then you know I was wearing my hat So I don't know if I missed it or something but I was walking in the fabric area And then I felt like some kind of heat a little bit And that's when I went to the bra section but no one else was around me Everyone was just shopping and everything And and you felt heat how long after you left that aisle just like a split second And then why is that that's when I saw all the smoke and everything And when But no one else was in the aisle and then you felt the heat Okay So I think it's time for you to be honest with us at this point What do you mean okay So Emma there's the the footage shows you leave the aisle where the fire started moments before the smoke starts rising up from the shelf and your behavior when you walk out of that aisle You're you're you're obviously you're paying attention to what's happening down there Um you can see your head turning and like looking down there several times because I'm usually paranoid about people following me Okay I do have moments where I get overly paranoid and it makes me act erratically and she can back that up and I'm sorry I can understand that and and I'm not I'm not saying that you know you're you're this bad person who's trying to hurt anyone or anything like that but the the footage shows you coming out of where that fire started and you're the only one there And as soon as you leave we follow you all the way through the store And I mean you're you're trying to cover your face when you're walking out of the door No I was in a tanic doing this Okay What What did you start it with i didn't have anything You can check my whole room my whole body person everything I don't have anything I'm not asking you if you have anything I'm asking you what you started it with I didn't start it with anything We need you to be honest okay there's lots of footage You're clearly in a panic right now So what did you start this the the state crime inspectors are coming to check the fire and they're going to be able to tell us exactly how it happened Like not like it maybe happened this way or it maybe happened that way What did you say my lighter What where's the lighter at now it's in Where's the lighter at now Emma where's the lighter at it's in the kitchen where I don't want you to touch it I want you to tell me where it's at What's going to happen to me please tell me Tell me where the lighter is I just I Emma this is a felony That's That's the Where's the lighter stick of it i didn't mean to do it I'm sorry I really wasn't thinking I didn't take my meds today and I'm impulsive Okay Oh no Where's the lighter at it's in the kitchen When you walk in there's like a cabinet right here There's a garbage through the refrigerator first Okay I'm going to walk you over there and I want you to show me where it's at Okay i don't want you to touch it Okay so let's go grab it Don't touch it Just show me where it's at Which one is it green The green one Is she going to get arrested for this i'm going to go to jail Please be honest with me Come back over here We're not done yet So what what did you start hm What What did you start on fire i just What did you like i lit one of the leaves of the fake plants and I just I really didn't mean to What do you mean explain that to me Help me understand Because I wasn't thinking about anything that could have happened at the end I didn't even think about that I was And I feel really guilty But I really don't want to go to jail Seriously you could have hurt somebody I don't understand the gravity of the situation No I do I do now And I'm really Just help me Help me understand Calm down Take a break I don't want to kill myself You're not going to calm down Emma why did you start the leaf on fire let's Let's start with that Just take two breaths and explain to me why you did that I don't know I don't know why I did it Okay I just Do you like fire or what what i do I just I couldn't help myself I mean I could I don't know I just wasn't thinking straight And so what what did you want the outcome to be i thought it would just die out Did you I swear did you see it start to burn more than you expected and is that when you walked away from it i started to panic and I felt really bad Have you ever had other fires like controlled ones before just in my own room But okay I swear I'm I just I don't know What do you burn in your room sometimes paper Just pieces of paper up in your room Not often but just I my intention was to just go to Walmart and get the oatmeal and mayonnaise and just walk out But I got distracted cuz I wanted to you know get a container of some sort in the beads aisle But then when I was searching around my pocket to see you know just to ask my mom something um that's when I felt the lighter and I did that was just Why did you have a Do you smoke i You smoke cigarettes or why No I Where did that Where did this green lighter come from it was in my room already for months on end already And when I put on my pants it was already in there because okay I probably forgot it in the dryer when I was washing my pants I don't know why I carry it but it's not cigarettes but I used to smoke weed But that stopped too Okay Why did you put it in the drawer down here i was panicking because when I was driving home I was shaking And that's when I realized I really [Music] Just so I have it clear you just wanted to start the leaf on fire I swear For what for what reason just explain For I didn't have a reason I didn't I can't think of any kind of reason that I would do that Okay And I swear I didn't mean to But what are you doing so you left and you came back here or did you stop anywhere else i came right back here but I went to Quick Trip first because I was going to get gas but I didn't park in the gas station And I just wanted to go home because Which trip did you go to did you go in the store i don't even remember doing it but I know I did it I don't know why I don't have a reason I don't have a motive or anything I didn't want to hurt anyone I didn't want to get in trouble but I did anyway I don't know why I did it I really don't Okay So did you go into the historical quick trip did you try to start something on fire in Quick Trip so what did you do when you went to the bathroom i went in the Quick Trip I went to the bathroom and I looked at myself in the mirror and started crying and then I just walked out and went home I will pay any amount of money to get rid of this Please I don't want my life to be it up Did you which direction did you come in at because you're parked this way I really just I really can't remember doing it but like I said I knew I did it and impulsivity has always been a problem with me and I'm really not trying to blame it on that but I don't remember doing it I just know that when I was walking out I was shaking and I couldn't feel my limbs and I just regretted it And I tried exercising right before you guys came here to ease my anxiety but I feel really guilty I really didn't mean to do it I don't know what was going through my mind so bad You're It's just It's just stuff Okay I'm sorry Nobody got hurt Nobody got hurt Nobody got hurt It's just stuff Okay I will pay all the damages I don't care how You're not You're not going to have enough to pay those damages No you're not What am I going to do wait what's going to happen well the the stuff is like you said it's just stuff Okay You You'll never have enough to pay to replace that stuff but it's it's Walmart They have insurance No I'm being so care I'm so glad I didn't hurt anyone Oh nobody You're right Nobody got hurt God I feel so bad I don't know what came over me to do it I just can't think of a single reason Did you try to put it out or did it just get so big so fast that you couldn't when I saw it spreading I wanted to go back but I freaked out and I didn't say anything Did it spread fairly quickly i didn't mean for it to happen Explain to me how it spread I don't know When I told you I was walking away from it I looked back and it just reached the ceiling and I was like "Holy shit." I Where on the shelf was the leaf that you lit was it like like waist level or was it down lower it was a waist level About waist high I didn't want that to happen Period Now that I just don't So how quickly did it get big really fast Like less than a minute Yeah How long did you stand there for and watch it i was frozen in place in that bra section for a split second and then you know a Could you see it could you see the fire from the bra section all I saw was just the top of it from the shelf to the ceiling Okay So you could see it going over the top of the shelf How long did you stay in the aisle once you lit the leaf i just I looked at it for a split second and then when I walked away that's when I finally realized And that's why I acted fidgety in the video because I wouldn't I wanted to turn back and put it out but I was freaking out because I didn't want to get hurt I burned myself before and it hurts But I also go can I please still go to school i imagine Yeah you'll you'll go to school at some point What do you mean at some point what's going to happen we we will be arresting you You better go get some pants on yourself I'll be coming with you So just go slow I swear I'm not a pyromaniac I don't God So at the age of 17 she can be booked into jail I figured Listen listen Listen listen You're 17 Okay Right This is You're going to be okay You have a long life to live You're going to be okay It it'll ultimately be up to the courts if if they want to proceed with this Okay If they want to proceed with this you're going to be fine I You made a big mistake I did But luckily that's a a big company that can can handle it Okay But you're going to love you're going to There's definitely going to be some consequences for it Okay Do you have any weapons up here don't don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no don't no no no I'm sorry I'm sorry What do you have what what's that just the blade that I use sometimes Just don't touch it You're fine Let's throw on some sweatpants and some socks Okay Jesus Christ dude Oh god You didn't mean to do that I know Remember do you have a body camera yes I do Oh Jesus Christ This is so amazing Is this going to be published to YouTube no No No Thank you I'm already filled this shape Well I I can't promise that but Oh god Yeah Just don't don't That's not what you need to be focusing on right she just just got in trouble for vaping weed in the classroom Okay You will be staying overnight Is this her fault oh god They're going to let me know when the bond is too much love Holy I could have been at my house Please I love you I'm sorry I don't mean to be this way I really hate myself for this Remember it's just stuff Okay breathe I really wasn't thinking when I did it I swear Benny I love you but you need to breathe Okay breathe It's going to be okay I hope I mean after all this I mean okay I'm ready This is a lesson learned Yes it is Oh Jesus God R you want to snap a couple pictures of the car before you go oh Jesus Oh God And just breathe Okay Like your mom said Do you know detective Bray said this is stuff Okay I know But nobody got hurt I'm not a bad kid I swear Emma Emma I know that I told you that in the house I know you're not a bad kid I'm grateful that you guys understand I mean not that you understand but that Well no more like it I don't think you did this cuz you're a bad person or you wanted to hurt anybody I really wasn't aware of my own movements I understand So here's how it's going to look in there Okay You're you're going to be by yourself They won't put you in like a big cell with a bunch of people Okay So they'll get you kind of changed out and everything like that And um you'll be in probably just a Can you push my glasses yeah You'll just be in kind of like a booking cell by yourself and then um you'll go see the judge tomorrow Okay I'm so embarrassed and just shameful Oh god Do you have anything in your pockets at all okay I'm just going to search real quick If I could I would give you a hug and apologize but obviously I appreciate that Emma That's I I understand what you're saying I get it I get it You know I'm sorry I do believe you go Oh god We have a very very short trip up to the jail So edit So I have your phone Okay Do I have permission to look through it yeah Please don't message anyone Oh absolutely not We'd never do that Is it okay if you unbuckle if that's allowed yeah I can do that Do you happen to have any tissues if not that's okay I might have some By the way I got to say you are quite attractive Sorry that other guy is too Sorry Oh my god This is what I mean I don't think before doing anything I've had a lot weirder stuff said to me from people back there before Hello Hey smarter with one turn [Music] right You're going to go right where the blue square is and then just have a seat right there Okay Just breathe them and there's nothing nothing in here that's going to get to you Okay Given that the incident could potentially rank among one of the biggest [ __ ] shows in history Emma was charged with felony counts of arson of property firstdegree recklessly endangering safety criminal damage to property misdemeanor disorderly conduct and she was released a few days later on a $5,000 cash bond Almost a year later Emma pleaded guilty to two felony charges while the remaining charges were dismissed but read in According to the AP store manager the smoke and fire damage resulted in approximately $20,000 in building repairs around $2 million in cleanup costs and roughly $8 million in merchandise losses Ultimately Emma was sentenced to 8 years of probation with the following conditions serve 60 days in jail and pay $8,636,797 in restitution However if Emma plays her cards right on probation she will only be required to pay $1 million in restitution by December 2034 Check out more of our police body cam videos here on the channel Please like subscribe and hit the bell icon to get notified of our newest videos [Music] In the meantime check out our latest video here