Flats evacuated after kitchen fire at business on Slough High Street
Crews from five fire stations and an aerial ladder platform from Reading were sent to the town centre on Tuesday, as thick smoke drifted across nearby streets.
Residents of flats above a business on Slough High Street were evacuated on Tuesday 3 November after a fire broke out in a ground-floor kitchen.
Firefighters were called just after midday. Thick grey smoke poured over the town centre, and nearby streets were covered in haze for much of the early afternoon.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire started in a kitchen on the ground floor and spread into a storeroom. The flats above the premises were evacuated as a precaution.
Crews from across east Berkshire
Fire engines came from Slough, Langley, Ascot, Maidenhead and Windsor, along with an aerial ladder platform from Reading. That vehicle is used to reach and fight fires at height.
Footage shared with UB1UB2 shows smoke rising behind the shopfronts on the High Street, near the junction by the Nando's restaurant. Shoppers and passers-by can be seen watching from the pavement.
Locals named the business they believe was involved, but the fire service has not confirmed which premises it was.
What is not yet known
The fire service has not said what caused the fire. It also has not said whether anyone was hurt, how long crews stayed at the scene, or when residents could go back to their flats.
While the fire was being tackled, people were advised to avoid the area around the High Street.
A busy town centre street
Slough High Street is the town's main shopping street. It is lined with restaurants, takeaways, grocers and other independent shops, many with flats on the upper floors.
This is not the first fire on the street in recent times. On Tuesday 4 November 2025, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service was called at 9.09am to a fire in a flat on the High Street. Crews from Slough, Langley, Maidenhead and Windsor, plus a crew from Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, found a fire in a cooker hood. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus put it out with a hose reel and a CO2 extinguisher, and were at the scene for about an hour and 25 minutes.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service publishes details of incidents it attends on its website. In an emergency, call 999 and ask for the fire service.