M&S staff hospitalised after 'suspected carbon monoxide leak'

A regular weekday morning at a south London retail park quickly turned into something far more serious, as emergency services descended on one of the area’s busiest shopping destinations. Yesterday morning (Tuesday 16 December), shoppers were urged to steer clear, blue lights lined the road, and staff were ushered away from the building as crews worked behind cordons.

Fire engines, ambulances and specialist response teams gathered outside the Marks & Spencer store on Gallions Road in Charlton, while messages circulated online and across social media warning people to avoid the area altogether. What initially appeared to be a precaution soon escalated into a significant emergency response, involving multiple agencies and specialist equipment.

Inside the store, firefighters in breathing apparatus carried out systematic sweeps of the building, while paramedics treated a number of people at the scene. The shop itself was evacuated before emergency crews arrived, leaving staff waiting outside as assessments continued. At that point, few details were confirmed publicly, but officials were clear that the situation was being taken seriously.

Emergency services attended the Charlton store following reports of a suspected gas incident (Marks and Spencer/Google Street Maps/W Wan)

Just over two hours into the incident, it emerged that 11 members of staff had been taken to hospital following a suspected carbon monoxide leak at the M&S Charlton store. They were among around 35 people evacuated from the building on Tuesday morning, with all those affected understood to be staff members rather than customers, as the store had not yet opened to the UK public.

The London Ambulance Service confirmed it had treated 30 people for chemical inhalation, with 19 discharged at the scene and 11 taken to hospital for further checks. All staff members who were hospitalised were later discharged the same day.

Reported by The Grocer, James Johnson, strategic commander for the London Ambulance Service, said: “We were called at 9.32am today (16 December) to reports of a suspected carbon monoxide incident on Gallions Road, Charlton. We sent a number of resources to the scene including ambulance crews, incident response officers, paramedics in fast response cars, advanced paramedics and paramedics from our hazardous area response team. We treated 30 people for chemical inhalation. We took 11 patients to hospital and discharged 19 patients at the scene.”

The store remained closed while investigations into the incident were carried out (Marks and Spencer/Google Street Maps/Mr Wrong)

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson added: “Firefighters were called at 08.35 today (16 December) to a suspected carbon monoxide leak at a shop on Gallions Road in Charlton. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus have used specialist equipment to carry out a systematic sweep of the building and found elevated readings of carbon monoxide. Crews have carried out further sweeps to check for no elevated readings. They have also completed a ventilation of the building.”

M&S confirmed the store was temporarily closed while investigations continue, saying: “Our Charlton store is temporarily closed as we investigate an incident that happened earlier this morning, we hope to reopen as soon as possible.”