FIREFIGHTERS bravely battled a huge blaze that ripped through a block of flats in Manchester's city centre this afternoon.
The blaze broke out at the Lighthouse Apartments tower block in the Northern Quarter of Manchester’s city centre earlier this evening.
The apartment block is situated close to Afflecks Palace, a large indoor market just one street away.
Dramatic images from the scene showed smoke billowing out the tall tower block as the raging inferno spreads, while crowds of people watched on from below.
Fire crews confirmed one person was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and the fire had spread "over a number of floors".
A dozen fire engines attended the scene as firefighters battled to get the blaze under control.
According to fire service sources, three apartments have been damaged as well as a section of the exterior of the building.
Manchester Fire, who have now brought the flames under control, urged people to stay away from the area and to close their windows and doors if they live nearby.
The fire brigade tweeted: “We're currently tackling a fire on the 9th floor of a 12-storey building on Joiner Street in Manchester's Northern Quarter.
“Please avoid the area if possible and keep windows and doors shut if you live nearby.”
One witness told the MEN: "It looks like a very big fire. There are police and ambulances and fire engines everywhere.
"The fire is about halfway up the building - it looks serious."
Another onlooker at scene 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."
Church Street was closed eastbound due to the incident between High Street and Tib Street's junction with Dale Street after police cordoned off the area surrounding the tower block.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “We are currently supporting colleagues from GMFRS responding to a fire at a block of flats on Joiner Street in the Northern Quarter. A number of roads have been closed in the area. Please try to avoid the area.”
A spokeswoman for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said resources are at the scene but no further information is currently available.
Damien Butters was in the block when the fire broke out, and told MEN: “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.”
Scores of people took to Twitter as the blaze spread.
Twitter user Jules said: “This Manchester fire is worrying. Hope everyone managed to get out of there.”
Another said: “Horrendous scenes and scary pictures from the awful #manchesterfire. Stay safe all.”
Nathan Ariane added: “Hope there’s nothing bad to come from the fire on Joiner St in the NQ.
“I did a shoot in an apartment next to the one that’s on fire a few years back and it’s a great modern part of Manchester with a great vibe. @manchesterfire tackling it like the heroes they are.”
Another Twitter user, who posted two videos of the scene, said: "Literally ten mins after posting the first video, it's spreading fast."
Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell said all "fire and response procedures" have kicked in, adding the council would ensure that anyone evacuated would have somewhere to stay.
She tweeted: “I hope everyone is ok. This looks like a major incident. Fire services and emergency services are at the scene.
“Please let them get on with their job and keep area clear.”
In a tweet, she said the council would ensure that anyone evacuated would have somewhere to stay.
The MP also urged people to stay away from the scene so emergency services could get full access.
Two bedroom flats in the Lighthouse building, the tallest residential block in the Northern Quarter area which was completed in 2008, are worth £175,000 to £180,000.
The block is built on an old Victorian building, with the new skyscraper towering above, and shares the building with The Light ApartHotel on the lower floors.