SHOPPERS were forced to evacuate a Dorchester supermarket after smoke was discovered coming from a vent.
Staff at Waitrose in the county town decided to evacuate the store shortly before 9am as they could not find the source of the smoke.
Fire crews were called to try and find out where it was coming from.
After establishing the source of the smoke, the firefighters were able to extinguish it and an electrician was called to examine the cause.
The store was re-opened at around 10am, having been closed to shoppers for just over an hour.
Waitrose Dorchester branch manager Chris Parry said: “We evacuated the branch this morning as a precautionary measure after a small amount of smoke was detected.
“The fire brigade traced a fault in the ventilation system, which has now been rectified and we are trading as normal.”
A spokesman for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said it was contacted at 8.50am and firefighters discovered a fire in the store’s ventilation system, which was extinguished using a carbon dioxide extinguisher.
She added that the cause of the fire was accidental and there was light smoke damage to the ceiling of the store.
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