Staff at a Boots store got a fright this morning as they set off a “smoke cloak” intruder alarm.
Two fire engines were called to the scene at around 8am this morning after smoke started pouring out of Boots, in High Street, Wanstead.
One of the members of staff had triggered the “smoke cloak” system which caused an impenetrable cloud of fog to fill the shop and spill out into the street.
The intruder alarm acts as a deterrent to burglars.
A firefighter at the scene said an investigation was underway into what had caused the system to malfunction.
He said: “We are looking into what happened but it seems to just have been a fault in the smoke cloak system.
“There was no fire and no one was hurt.”
The store was ventilated and opened again by 9.30am.
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