Shops evacuated after chemical reaction

Firefighters evacuated a number of shops in a shopping centre in Harlow today after a chemical reaction in a basement.

Crews were called to a retail unit in Terminus Street, Harlow at 11:51am.

On arrival, four crews reported that chemicals had reacted in one of the retail units. Firefighters worked with police colleagues to evacuate a number of shops within the area as a precaution. 

Specially trained Detection Identification and Monitoring (DIM) officers were requested to monitor the chemical levels and what threat they posed to the wider public. 

Crews worked to make the scene safe by 2pm.

Following testing, fire officers confirmed the reaction was caused by roofing materials when they were mixed. Nobody was harmed during the incident and the scene was safe for people to return to.

Station Manager Kev Jenner, Incident Commander: “It’s not just fires we deal with, we’re also trained to deal with chemical incidents. In this case, it was a chemical reaction and initial crews from Harlow worked really well to cordon off the scene and evacuate the shops, which we very busy in the run up to Christmas. 

“We worked alongside police and ambulance colleagues to see how we can best keep people safe while we worked to measure the quantity of chemicals in the air. A big thank you to a colleague from Cambridge Fire and Rescue Service for helping us at the scene to monitor the chemicals.”