Photographs have revealed the devastated remains of homes after a raging inferno spread across several floors thanks to the high rise’s wooden balconies.
Flames and smoke spread to several flats of the building in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and a 23-year-old was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
At the height of the blaze, twelve engines were deployed and a firefighter was seen leaping from one balcony to another after being pictured outside a burning apartment.
Residents of the block revealed how they were told to stay inside their flats by firefighters as a wall of deadly smoke had filled the block’s staircase.
An investigation has now begun into what caused the tower block fire, which comes six months after a blaze at Grenfell Tower in London killed 71 people.
The fire service said it had been spread by the block’s wooden balconies, while external cladding was ruled out as an accelerant.
The devastation caused by yesterday’s fire shows several flats gutted out after the blaze was spread by the block’s wooden balconies
Hundreds of tower block residents cheated death after the huge inferno broke out and spread across three floors due to the high rise’s wooden balconies
A firefighter is pictured on a balcony at the tower block (left) and according to an eyewitness was seen leaping onto another burning balcony shortly after. Shown right, a block resident filmed the blaze from their flat
Rescuers were seen appearing to tackle the fire in Manchester’s Northern Quarter as it appeared to engulf several of the tower block’s floors
People were seen trying to bring the blaze under control at the 12-storey building in Manchester’s city centre
One of the building’s rooms is pictured after fire raged through the tower block in Manchester’s Northern Quarter
A fire has broken out on the ninth floor of a 12 storey block in Manchester’s Northern Quarter
One witness describing the blaze, pictured, said: ‘It looks like a very big fire. ‘There are police and ambulances and fire engines everywhere’
Paramedics along with 12 teams of firefighters have been deployed at the scene of the blaze in the Northern Quarter of Manchester
As the blaze raged, 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.’
Second floor resident Megan Baxter told the Manchester Evening News: ‘I heard a knock on the door, but I thought it was just a postman so I didn’t answer at first.
‘Then I could hear people shouting in the hallway. About five or ten minutes later, next door came and knocked on the door and I answered.
‘He said: “There’s a fire, you need to get out.”
‘I was only in a dressing gown, so I threw some pyjamas on and slippers.
‘I tried to get my hamster out of her cage, but she wouldn’t get out so I had to leave her.
‘I came downstairs and looked up and the sky was covered in smoke, with fire engine. Six or seven fire engines pulled up, there was firemen running everywhere, and about a hundred people in the street.’
Meghan Baxter told how she fled the burning 12-storey tower block, leaving her hamster behind as she raced to safety
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.’
A total of 12 fire engines were deployed to the scene in Manchester’s Northern Quarter as the fire seemed to engulf several floors of a 12-storey block
Drone footage shows damage to the tower block, where fire spread to several floors in Manchester’s Northern Quarter
It is also understood that external balconies on the building were also on fire.
Manchester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the fire is now under control in a tweet saying: ‘The fire had spread to multiple floors but we have things well under control here.
‘Firefighters along with colleagues from the Police and Ambulance service have done an amazing job to tackle this difficult incident.’
Onlookers broke into spontaneous applause as firefighters doused the flames, which appear to be reducing in ferocity. The service also flew a drone around the block afterwards showing the devastation wrought by the fire.
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.’
Just after 6pm she tweeted: ‘I have spoken with the Manchester fire service. The #manchesterfire is under control and the building is being safely evacuated.
‘Paramedics & others are at the scene to triage all those affected but no serious injuries known. Thank you our brilliant firefighters & paramedics.’
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn praised emergency services for their swift response.
He tweeted: ‘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.’
A number of roads were sealed off by police as the fire raged in shocking footage captured here.
Lucy Powell MP praised the ‘brilliant’ work of Manchester’s firefighters, who have now brought the blaze under control in the Northern Quarter
Emergency services continue to deal with the aftermath of the blaze and the block is now being evacuated
Crowds of people gathered on nearby streets to watch smoke and flames pouring from the block of flats
Manchester Fire Service said the ninth and 10th floors of the 12-storey block on Joiner Street, pictured here from a nearby road, were on fire
There are 12 fire engines fighting the fire in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, and several nearby roads have been sealed off by police
Witness Andrew Hirst said crowds could be heard cheering as the fire was extinguished.
‘You could hear the crowd’s cheers as it was going down and you could see the torches from the firemen searching the burned out apartments right next door to the other apartments that were still frighteningly ablaze,’ the 36-year-old said.
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 showed 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.’
People have been advised to stay away from the area as several floors appear to have been affected by the fire
Images posted on social media show smoke billowing out of the building on Joiner Street in the city’s Northern Quarter, while crowds of people watch on from below
The blaze appears to have affected several floors at the 12-storey tower block in Manchester’s Northern Quarter
People have been advised to stay away from the scene of a fire that broke out in a tower block in Manchester
The 12-storey block, which is located in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, is pictured before today’s blaze broke out and affected several floors
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.