Staff and shoppers have been evacuated from the Laois Shopping Centre this afternoon following a suspected fire.
All of the units in the building have been cleared and staff from those are now surrounding the shopping centre.
According to some of those people, the fire is believed to have started in Tesco.
It is not clear at this stage how it started or if anyone has been injured.
Multiple units of the fire services and gardai are now on the scene and believed to be battling to extinguish the fire.
One of the workers from a different unit in the centre, who did not wish to be named, told LaoisToday how they were all evacuated.
He said: “We were all evacuated just before 12pm and it was scary enough.
“We weren’t sure what had happened at first but we are being told there is a fire in Tesco.”
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We’re aware of an incident at our Portlaoise store this afternoon which was attended by the emergency services.
“All colleagues and customers were safely evacuated as a matter of precaution. The store was closed for a short time but has since reopened.
“The safety of our colleagues and customers is our utmost priority.”
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