Ocado has been forced to suspend customer orders from its new Andover warehouse following a blaze on Tuesday.
The online grocery firm said that the fire brigade is on site and no one suffered injury.
The firm said the fire started in a section of the ambient grid of the Hampshire site, and all “relevant safety measures” were carried out as planned.
“The incident and the measures being taken to contain it appears to have affected a proportion of the mechanical handling equipment and some of the grid,” Ocado said in a stock exchange announcement.
Customers took to social media when deliveries failed to turn up.
Hello Christina! Unfortunately we had some operational issues at one of our warehouses today which has resulted in the cancellation of a number of routes. We are sorry to hear you have been affected by this, but we are expecting business as usual throughout the week! – Mitch
— Ocado (@Ocado) February 5, 2019
As well as a human presence, the automated warehouse is staffed by robots that can pack 65,000 grocery orders a week.
Ocado added: “Although some orders had already left the warehouse before the incident and will be delivered as normal, Andover suspended operation this morning preventing further fulfilment of orders.
“We will assess the damage this incident has caused to the Andover Customer Fulfilment Centre and will update further as appropriate.”
