Shoppers were evacuated from Sainsbury’s Portswood this afternoon following a fire alarm in the store.
At around 3pm, the alarm sounded and customers were ordered to head out of the supermarket.
They stood outside with their shopping for about ten minutes before staff assured that it was a false alarm and the doors were reopened.
Credit: Andy Ngai
It was soon confirmed that the cause behind the alarm bells was a burning pizza being (badly) cooked in a back kitchen.
A local mother at the scene said:
No one was really panicking. It was pretty obvious from the calmness of the staff that it was nothing serious…All that for a burnt pizza!
Following the alarm, customers were soon back in the store and shopping as normal- albeit with the mild scent of blackened pizza in the air.
Credit: Andy Ngai
Matt, Sainsbury’s store manager, explained that even in these seemingly minor cases, the correct measures must be taken.
This is the first time an alarm has gone off since I’ve been in this job…We were aware quite early on that it was due to a burning pizza, but it was still necessary to take the standard procedure, to ensure everyone’s safety
Were you present at this dramatic event? Have you ever set off a fire alarm by burning a pizza? Let us know in the comments below!
