FIREFIGHTERS have confirmed that the thick smoke which forced the evacuation of Boots in Coney street this afternoon was generated by a security system.
They say it was caused by a ‘smoke cloak’ that activated in the shop just before 1pm.
A smoke cloak is a security system that triggers the release of a thick impenetrable cloud of fog in the event of a break-in.
It is unclear what set it off.
Customers had to be evacuated and the store was forced to close for several hours this afternoon as a result.
Staff on the doorstep politely prevented puzzled customers from entering until the store re-opened at about 4.30pm.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: “A crew from York responded to a report of smoke in a commercial property.
“Crews carried out a thorough investigation and found no signs of fire.
“The cause of the smoke was found to be a smoke cloak that had activated in the property.”
Watch our live video report from the scene here
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