But a spokeswoman for the Beales Department Store in Market Place, Saffron Walden, reassured customers that the flooding had caused “minimal” damage. Beales was open for business as usual at 9am yesterday.
The flood was discovered shortly before 2am on Tuesday after burglar and fire alarms sounded and alerted a keyholder.
Fire engines from Saffron Walden attended as water leaked through the floors of the four-storey building.
Paul Curtis, fire station officer, said: “When we arrived, we found the water leak pouring from the top floor, through all the floors down to the cellar.
“We called for a second crew to assist with a major salvage operation, removing any stock we could to safety and dealing with the incident itself.
“This is a terrible time for anyone to suffer this kind of damage.”
Fire crews had dealt with the situation, which they blamed on a burst water pipe, by 3.07am.
The Beales spokeswoman said the loss to stock was “minimal”, as was damage to the building.
She said: “A hot water heater overflowed but the damage has been minimal. The store opened as normal and there has been no loss to trade.”
Mr Curtis issued a warning to homes and businesses to check water pipes and make sure they are properly lagged now the cold weather has arrived.
He said: “We’ve all become a bit complacent about the cold weather and the damage that can be done as temperatures have remained high for this time of the year.
“But it appears the weather is now getting colder and that means people need to make sure their homes and businesses are weather protected.”
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