Multiple staff members of Aberystwyth’s Tesco superstore have come forward to whistle-blow over the “worst level of fire safety ever seen”.

Staff are “shocked” about the level of fire safety at the store after multiple incidents in which the fire alarm sounded in the last month were met with an “extremely lackluster attitude” from store management.

On 29 January at roughly 3pm at least three wheelchair users were again left in the store whilst the fire alarm sounded due to “no staff being trained to use the evacuation chairs”. This is a repeat of an incident at the same store on 19 April 2023 where the same issue occurred.

Tesco has since confirmed that one evacuation chair is faulty and in the process of being replaced.

Customers and staff were then filed down the in-store sloping escalators rather than using the designated fire doors and stairwells, having to push through a fire curtain to get out. According to a staff member, a staff register was not taken at the evacuation meeting point, where multiple staff were missing.

A staff member said: “[The lack of fire safety] is a danger to the public and our staff and I sincerely hope there is never a real fire as we are looking at some serious consequences if the situation does arise. I cannot in good faith not comment on these issues as I genuinely believe someone will get hurt or even worse.”

A relative of a pair of customers who did not want to be named said: “My in-laws were left, along with other wheelchair users, alone in the empty store, as staff and customers were evacuated. All they would hope for is that an incident like this did not happen again.

“They have since received an apology from the store manager and he has explained that they are retraining staff and providing better equipment. Meanwhile, I am waiting for a response from the cabinet member of health for his expertise and advice moving forward.”

A staff member said: “I was shocked that the wheelchair users hadn’t been escorted out of the building. It worries me greatly that adequate care wasn't taken to ensure the safety of disabled and vulnerable individuals on the premises.

“I'm always a little worried by the extremely lackluster attitude taken to evacuating customers and employees from the store. It's often slow with many customers continuing to shop for a good while after the initial alarm.

“During the last fire alarm incident, I noticed that not all the employees were present at the meeting point. At this point, a register is meant to be taken to ensure all employees are safe - no such register has ever taken place in my time working there. “

Another staff member said: “A staff register is not something I have ever been told to take, nor is it something anyone has ever carried out since I have been working there. A lot of staff members weren’t even aware of where their nearest fire exit was.

“We also do not have fire curtains on the roadside, only the car park side, so customers can continue flowing into the store this way if they choose to ignore the alarm and nobody is present to stop them.

“This has all been flagged up multiple times to management and it is widely known that nobody really knows the correct processes across the store, but it is yet to be addressed. This is a top-down failure, junior staff members cannot be expected to carry out actions they have not been trained to carry out.” Although the building was constructed within the last 11 years, opening in 2016, the store does not have any fire exits accessible to disabled people and the sloping escalators are too steep for wheelchair use. During fire alarms, lifts are automatically disabled.

After the April 2023 incident, Tesco also issued an apology and stated that though the evacuation procedure was “in line with their fire safety plan” it would be putting “additional measures in place to aid the evacuation of disabled customers”.

During a second recent incident on 9 February at roughly 6pm customers and staff were again filed down the sloping escalators.

One whistleblower, a staff member at the store, said: “It was the worst level of public fire safety I've ever seen. Instead of directing customers out of fire exits, the entire store, comprising of staff and customer were directed down the escalators.

“This must have been 300 or more people being funneled down the escalators whilst fire escape stairwells weren't used at all. If someone were to fall, there would have been a huge accident.”

However regular customer of the store Mike Clark who was escorting his mother to do her weekly shop didn’t experience any issues with the evacuation on 9 Feb: “We weren’t instructed to leave any particular way if I recall correctly, but were told first to leave the store by the fellow on the checkout, and then moments later by an announcement.

“I had my mother with me, who has recently lost her sight and thus needs guiding around, so I led her out and down the escalator immediately. The car was parked near the exit so we just got in and went because I thought it better not to get in anyone’s way if there was indeed a fire.

“Lots of people took off in their cars but it was all very orderly and efficient and fast; I can’t fault anyone’s reaction.”

A spokesperson for Tesco said: “We have procedures in place to allow for the safe evacuation of our Aberystwyth Superstore. Colleagues are trained in our evacuation procedures and we hold regular drills to ensure that any evacuation is handled effectively.”