At 3:42pm on Friday, 07 July, we received reports of a fire in a high-rise construction site on Garrard Street in Reading.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service crews from Caversham Road, Wokingham Road, Wokingham, Mortimer, Bracknell, Slough, Whitley Wood and Theale fire stations were sent to the scene. An Aerial Ladder Platform, Incident Command Unit and five Officers were also sent to the scene alongside crews from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Firefighters were at the scene of the incident within 90 seconds and rapidly intervened to prevent the spread of a fire in a high-rise construction site and ensured that all persons onsite were safe and accounted for.
Using a drone from Thames Valley Police and an external lift at the site, firefighters were able to quickly locate and tackle a fire on the twelfth and thirteenth floors of the building. Firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus then used a jet to extinguish the fire.
Thank you to our partners at Thames Valley Police, South Central Ambulance Service and Reading Borough Council for their support in responding to this incident. Crews remain at the scene of the incident at this time checking for hot spots.
Update 11 July 2023
Following the incident on Garrard Street in Reading on Friday, 7 July, crews worked hard at the scene, alongside partners, to bring the fire under control and were initially in attendance for over four hours. On Saturday, 8 July, a crew returned to the incident to re-inspect the area.
An initial fire investigation has been completed and could not determine the source of ignition for the fire, however the cause of the fire appears to be accidental at this time.