Waitrose warehouse in Milton Keynes re-opens after major fire on Saturday

The Brinklow building was open for business as usual this morning with only one wall damaged by the flames. Fire crews rushed to the scene at 7.30am on Saturday after receiving multiple calls from members of the public reporting plumes of smoke and explosion-type noises. The blaze started in external trailer unit and went on to destroy four other tractor units as well as one wall of the warehouse.

One wall of the warehouse was damaged

The building’s sprinkler system activated immediately and this, coupled with swift action by fire crews stopped the building being further damaged.

More than eight fire crews – 30 firefighters – were there, along with other emergency services. Extra crews were drafted in from neighbouring areas such as Aylesbury, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Deddington. A spokesperson for Waitrose said the warehouse was open again today.

She said: “Our Brinklow distribution centre is run by a third party logistics provider, and we’re incredibly grateful for the quick response of everyone on the ground, including the Buckinghamshire fire and rescue team.

The giant plume of smoke could be seen for miles

“Thankfully no-one was injured in the incident, and the site has now reopened.” It is understood the damage to stock in the warehouse was not as bad as was first expected. The warehouse, known as the Brinklow Regional Distribution Centre was officially opened in March 1993.

It is large enough to accommodate five football pitches and there are155 miles of electrical cabling around the complex.

The internal roads were designed to withstand 20 million journeys of an eight-tonne truck.