A firefighter has expressed his sadness at the damage caused by a fire that ripped through Slough Bus Station this morning (October 29)

Flames emitting from a bus fire spread to the roof of the building at 1.50am and despite three fire engines arriving in the same number of minutes, the station was already ‘well-alight’.

Group Manager at Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service RBFRS, Tim Readings, explained how his team had to double the number of engines to extinguish the blaze.

“When they got there it was a very well-developed fire – the bus was already well-alight and the flames were already into the roof of the bus station itself, it was a big fire.”

He continued: “It was quite a challenging fire to fight, it’s fair to say, given the height of the canopy.”

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An aerial ladder platform was drafted in so firefighters could reach the roof of the bus station in Brunel Way.

“The fire spread across the roof was pretty extensive: It is really heavily damaged, unfortunately.”

Mr Readings said the fire had a wide impact, destroying one bus and damaging three others, and causing high-value damage to the bus station.

The station was built in 2011 as part of a £450m Heart Of Slough project to regenerate the town.

“Losing a bit of community infrastructure: It’s really sad because it’s a really nice building that someone has invested a lot of money in. So it’s a real shame for the community in Slough.”

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A joint investigation with Thames Valley Police has been launched into the cause of the fire which will consider all possibilities, including whether it was deliberate.

The fire was extinguished at 6.30am, but forensic investigators and RBFRS advisors remain on the scene.

“At the moment it is too early to say, and it is likely to take us a little while to give an indication of how the fire started,” said Mr Readings.

Thames Valley Police have been contacted for comment.