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An investigation into the blaze on Saturday is underway
Firefighters are still at the scene in the Northern Quarter following a huge fire at an apartment block on Saturday.
One person was taken to hospital after a fierce fire broke out in the 12-storey building.
Images taken at the scene showed balconies and flats on a number of floors clearly alight.
Emergency services were scrambled to Joiner Street in Manchester city centre, near Afflecks Palace and The Unicorn Pub off Church Street, at around 4.15pm.
Greater Manchester Fire Service said 12 engines were sent to tackle the fire.
A spokesman last night said the fire had spread to ‘multiple floors’ but the situation was ‘brought under control’.
The M.E.N. understands that police officers worked with firefighters to evacuate residents immediately as the blaze was reported and the building was quickly cleared.
Initial investigations suggest the fire began on the ninth floor and spread to the eighth, tenth and eleventh floors before it was brought under control.
Police said three people were treated for smoke inhalation, and two of those were treated at the scene.
The incident was scaled down around 8pm.
Joiner Street is still closed off, and one fire engine remains at the scene as investigations get underway as to the cause of the blaze.
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Firefighters remain at the scene of the blaze which ripped up the side of a 20-storey apartment block in Manchester city centre.
The fire quickly spread, engulfing several other balconies on surrounding floors.
No cladding was involved, the fire service said.
Investigators are now working to find out what sparked the blaze.
Read the full story here.
Manchester’s emergency services have been praised for their response to a fire at a city centre apartment block which engulfed several balconies in flames.
Jeremy Corbyn tweeted on Saturday evening his thanks to all involved in the incident.
He said: “Thank you to @manchesterfire for their heroic work bringing the blaze in Manchester’s Northern Quarter under control, and to the swift response of @gmpolice and paramedics.”
City centre spokesperson Coun Pat Karney, who was at the scene himself for most of the evening, tweeted: “Thank you from Manchester for your speedy and professional response tonight. We are proud of our fire fighters and proud of the other emergency services.”
You can read the full story here.
Pat Karney, city centre spokesman, said: “We will have an urgent meeting with the owners of the building on Tuesday.
“We know they are relatively new owners who bought the building about three months ago.
“We plan to go through the entire fire operation thoroughly.”
Latest from Charlotte Dobson at the scene:
The fire service say most residents are back inside the building. Those who’s apartments were damaged in blaze are staying in neighbouring hotel.
They say it’s too early to speculate on the cause of the blaze.
Mike Brannney, fire station manager for Gorton, said:
“At the moment we are still checking the premises with thermal scanning to check the fire has not spread anywhere else. Next we will start with the fire investigation.”
Our reporter Charlotte Dobson is at the scene this morning as investigations get underway.
She said: “Firefighters are already up in the building”.
Firefighters are still at the scene of the blaze in the Northern Quarter.
Investigations are now underway to determine the cause of the fire.
Police have thanked everyone for their ‘patience and community spirit’ following yesterday’s fire.
In an update, they said three people were treated for smoke inhalation. Two of those were treated at the scene.
Five people were temporarily rehoused in the same block of apartments.
Join us tomorrow morning for further updates.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service sent their drone unit up to help fight the fire today.
The cameras on the drone can spot exactly where in the building the fire is, and help direct firefighters on the ground.
Their view shows how they managed to stop it spreading to the upper floors of the complex.
Watch the video here:
Looks like fire started on the balcony. Four apartments affected. Very little fire damage, majority is smoke damage.
This amazing footage of firefighters on a balcony battling the huge blaze just yards from them shows just how remarkably brave they are. Read more here
Here’s our round-up on this afternoon’s dramatic fire in the Northern Quarter. Thankfully no one has been seriously injured - despite the fire spreading rapidly across floors. Read more here.
Our photographer Vincent Cole has sent us this video of firefighters working at the building after the fire has been put out.
There is still a big incident scene in the Northern Quarter, and roads are still closed in the area.
Still a lot of firefighters at the scene.
Anyone with any animals or children from the fire in the flats in the NQ need some where to come with your pets or children. The Library bar NQ 18 Tariff Street to open to all.
The blaze, it’s now been revealed, had spread to ‘multiple floors’ but the fire service said the situation was ‘well under control’.
Here’s what happened earlier on. Members of the public in the Northern Quarter caught the fire on video shortly after it broke out.
Damien Butters and his wife Irena are visiting Manchester for New Year from their home in Russia. They are on the 13th floor of the Lighthouse ApartHotel.
Damien said: “We saw smoke outside the window. We went to the lifts but they weren’t working, there was no fire alarm sounding. We went to the stairs but they were too full of smoke. We went back to the room and called reception.
“It was pretty scary, my wife’s first reaction was was it the same sort of building as the one in London (Grenfell Tower).
“Reception told us to stay in the room until we heard 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.”
According to fire service sources, three apartments have been damaged as well as a section of the exterior of the building.
Fire service confirms one casualty has been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
Firefighters have been battling the blaze in the Northern Quarter.
Our reporter Charlotte Cox is there and has sent us this video
Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell said all ‘fire and response procedures’ have kicked in.
In a tweet, she said the council would ensure that anyone evacuated would have somewhere to stay.
The MP urged people to stay away from the scene so emergency services could get full access.
We’re currently speaking to the emergency services and are attempting to find out if there are any residents in the block. We’ll bring you updates as we get them.