Flats evacuated after kitchen fire at business on Slough High Street

Residents of a block of flats on Slough High Street were evacuated on Tuesday 3 November after a fire broke out in a business below.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it received reports of the fire at 12.18pm. When crews arrived, they found a fire in a ground-floor kitchen that had spread into a storeroom. Firefighters then evacuated the flats above.

Footage shared with UB1UB2 shows thick grey and black smoke rising from behind the buildings on the High Street. Flames could be seen at roof level, and the smoke drifted across the town centre while fire engines and firefighters worked in the service yard behind.

Crews from across Berkshire

The fire service said crews from Slough, Langley, Ascot, Maidenhead and Windsor fire stations were sent. Two officers and the aerial ladder platform from Whitley Wood Fire Station in Reading went with them.

An aerial ladder platform is a high-reach vehicle. Firefighters use it to reach upper floors and roofs, and to aim water down onto a fire from above.

In the early afternoon the fire service said firefighters were still at the scene. People in the area had been advised to avoid the High Street while crews dealt with the fire, as nearby streets filled with haze.

What is not yet known

The fire service has not said what caused the fire or whether anyone was hurt. It has also not named the business involved.

Locals said the fire was at a restaurant on the High Street, but the fire service has not confirmed which premises it was. It has also not said when residents of the flats were allowed back into their homes.

Earlier fires on the High Street

This is not the first time flats on Slough High Street have been evacuated because of a kitchen fire in the past year.

On Monday 8 December 2025, a block of flats on the High Street was evacuated after a fire in the kitchen of a fourth-floor flat. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service sent crews from Slough, Langley, Maidenhead and Windsor, with help from Buckinghamshire and Surrey fire services.

On Tuesday 4 November 2025, crews were called to a flat on the High Street after a fire in a cooker hood. They were there for about an hour and 25 minutes.

Kitchen fire safety

Fire services say kitchens are where most accidental fires in homes and businesses start. They advise never leaving cooking unattended, keeping extractor hoods and filters free of grease, and making sure smoke alarms work.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service offers free home fire safety advice on its website. In an emergency, call 999.