Fire breaks out at 12 storey apartment building in Manchester

A fire has broken out on the ninth floor of a 12 storey apartment block in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

Flames and smoke has affected several floors of the building and one person has been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

The apartment block is situated close to Afflecks Palace, an indoor market situated on the next street, according to the Daily Mail.

Twelve fire engines are in attendance "tackling the blaze in the apartments", according to Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.

The Manchester Fire and Rescue Service tweeted: "We still have 12 fire appliances tackling the blaze in the Northern Quarter over a number of floors.

"Firefighting in still ongoing and one casualty has been taken to hospital suffer by smoke inhalation. Please avoid the area as roads are still shut."

In a statement, the service also said: "We're currently tackling a fire on the 9th floor of a 12 storey building on Joiner Street in Manchester's Northern Quarter."

Damian Butters and his wife Irena, from Russia, were staying on the 13th floor of the apartment block during a visit to Manchester for the New Year.

They were told by a firefighter not to leave the building as there was too much smoke on the stairs.

"It was pretty scary, my wife's first reaction was it the same sort of building as the one in London [Grenfell Tower]," Mr Butters told the Manchester Evening News.

"Reception told us to stay in the room until we waited for further information. Eventually a fireman came in and reassured us all was OK but we were not allowed to leave the hotel.

"They told us there was too much smoke on the stairs. We've been waiting for more than an hour so far."

It is also understood that external balconies on the building were also on fire.

Onlookers broke into spontaneous applause as firefighters doused the flames, which appear to be reducing in ferocity.

A witness told the BBC: "The fire has now been doused. A big hose on some kind of crane got it under control.

"The crowd has been applauding the firefighters as they are doing a heroic job."

Lucy Powell, Labour and Cooperative MP for Manchester Central, quoted a witness on the ground who claimed the fire had been 'put out'.

She also said officials would ensure that everyone who was evacuated from the block of flats would have somewhere to stay.

Referencing local councillor Pat Karney, Ms Powell said: "Pat is at the scene and tells me the fire has been put out.

"He and the council will ensure that everyone evacuated will have somewhere to stay. All fire and response procedures have kicked in.

"Again, please stay away from the area to allow services access."

The public are advised to avoid the area and a number of roads have been sealed off by police as the fire rages in shocking footage captured here.

A spokeswoman for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said resources are at the scene as shocking footage showed the spread of the fire here.

One witness told the Manchester Evening News: ' 'It looks like a very big fire.

"There are police and ambulances and fire engines everywhere.

"The fire is about half way up the building - it looks serious."

Footage posted on social media shows residents of the block of flats walking away from the fire after being evacuated by emergency services.

A woman can be heard saying: "We decided to spend a night in Manchester and the room below us set on fire, mental."

Church Street has been closed eastbound due to the incident between High Street and Tib Street's junction with Dale Street.

The incident comes seven months after the Grenfell Tower disaster, where 71 people died in a huge blaze that engulfed the 27-storey tower block in Kensington, West London.

The fire broke out as Manchester United prepared to face off against Southampton at Old Trafford, which is less than four miles away.