Blaze in Poundland basement causes heavy smoke in Luton shopping centre

Heavy smoke poured into The Mall Luton late on Thursday evening after a fire in the basement of one of the retail units.

According to Beds Fire Service no-one was injured following the blaze at Poundland's premises

A Beds Fire spokesman said: "Firefighters from Luton, Dunstable, Stopsley, Leighton Buzzard and Toddington attended a small electrical fire in Poundland.

"The area was heavily smoke-logged and firefighters in breathing apparatus used a hose reel and mains jets to extinguish it. They also used fans to help ventilation."

Mall Luton general manager Roy Greening said: "The sprinkler system activated immediately and extinguished the fire. There were no injuries.

"Luton fire brigade was called and helped ventilate the unit before declaring it was safe at around 1am."

He thanked them for their rapid response and said an investigation was under way.

The Mall opened as usual today (Friday September 17) and is trading as normal.