Kentish Express Ashford & District
Lidl store set to re-open after being closed by fire
The Lidl supermarket in Ashford is set to re-open today (Thursday) after fears it might be closed until the new year following an electrical fire.
Firefighters were called after a blaze started in the storage freezers and spread across the store room on Monday night.
Crews were called to the store in New Street at midnight, and battled the flames for two hours.
The fire was noticed by supermarket staff members who raised the alarm and evacuated the building.
Kent Fire and Rescue Service sent four engines which arrived five minutes later and used a thermal imaging camera to scan the single-storey building to pin- point the source.
They then used a hose reel jet to bring the fire under control, after smoke had spread throughout the store and the Park Club gym next door.
Investigators believe the fire spread from one of the freezers in the store room and are not treating the cause as suspicious.
Lidl remained closed on Tuesday and again yesterday (Wednesday) while staff moved damaged stock out of the shop. The company initially said the store was likely to be closed until the new year.
The store had previously reopened in June 2014 after a refurbishment that included adding a bakery and a new entrance and exit lobby, as well as adding new cladding to make the building lighter and more modern.
A Lidl spokesmen said: “I’m pleased to confirm that they are indeed re-opening the store at 7am on Thursday.
“The store team have done an incredible job alongside our contractors, which means we are able to re-open earlier than anticipated. We’d really like to extend our thanks to all the teams at Lidl who have really pulled together and been instrumental in helping to get the store back up and running.
“All the stock from the store has been returned to the ware- house, where we are assessing what is suitable to be redistributed to our other stores or donated to our charity partners. “No edible food will unnecessarily go to waste. Thankfully there were no injuries.”
Teams of workmen and staff were seen hard at work carrying our repairs and cleaning inside the store yesterday (Wednesday).
‘We’d like to thank our store colleagues and the emergency services for their swift action and response’