DOZENS of Slough residents were forced to flee their homes after a huge fire broke out in a town centre block of flats.

Emergency services descended on Mosaic Apartments on the High Street at around midnight on Thursday (August 22) after a blaze tore through the top floor of the building. 

Remarkably, there were no fatalities and everyone was safely escorted from the building, though some suffered injuries. 

Shocking video footage, reminiscent of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017 which claimed the lives of 72 victims, showed a 5th floor flat engulfed in flames as plumes of smoke surrounded the building.

Residents watched on in horror from the street below as fire crews from across the county worked hard overnight to tackle the blaze.

Describing the moment he was evacuated, resident Sudhiksha Dasari, 27, told the Observer: “It was so scary. I had someone banging on my door and then everyone was screaming to get out of the building.

“We all just grabbed what we could and got out of there. Thankfully the police let us stay in the lobby of the Moxy Hotel for the night.

A spokesman for Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said they managed to get the blaze under control by 4am but were still managing small fires in the roof at the time the Observer went to press yesterday afternoon (Thursday). 

Mr Dasari, who lives on the first floor, continued: "“When we got out of the building, it was crazy. There were about 12 fire engines and all the roads were closed. It seemed to have spread quite quickly because of the wind last night.”

According to Mr Dasari and other residents, no fire alarm could be heard throughout the block of flats - it was down to other residents banging on their doors who made them away of the blaze.
Ranjithlad Othayoth, who lives on the 5th floor, was left with injuries after attempting to stop someone get into his flat. 

He thought someone was trying to break in.

He said: “I didn’t know what was happening. Someone was trying to break down my door to let me know and at the time I thought it was someone trying to break in because there was no alarm sounding."

Once he realised what had happened, he made a quick escape but left all of his belongings behind.

Mr Othayoth said he's been left with nothing. 

He said: “At the minute I have nothing. Everything I have has been left in my apartment, including money, my phone and all my stuff.

“I am so shocked that there was no alarm and that it took someone breaking down my door to let me know of the fire.”

The fire service is investigating the cause of the fire. Residents told the Observer they were concerned when they'd be allowed back in the building to retrieve their belongings.