Ocado has confirmed that it has suffered a “small fire” at its automated warehouse in Erith, in southeast London. This makes it the second fire to hit Ocado’s facilities this year, following a major incident at its Andover unit in February.
The online grocer said the fire began in a hopper containing waste packaging outside the warehouse. Ocado said the London Fire Brigade was called and the fire was extinguished before it caused any damage to the main facility or any of robots that pick products.
It did note that a conveyor belt and external motor had been damaged by the fire, but any further damage was limited by the activation of a sprinkler. It said: “The fire suppression measures in place performed as intended and the fire did not spread.”
Ocado also admitted that the incident had led to some customer orders being cancelled, although it noted that those shoppers who were affected will be offered the chance to re-book for Friday.
NAM Implication:
- Hopefully some lessons learned from their first warehouse fire in February?
