A fire has torn through the ninth floor of a twelve-storey building in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Manchester Fire and Rescue were called to the fire, which consumed apartments on several floors on Saturday, the 30th of December. One individual was taken to hospital, suffering from smoke inhalation.
Twelve fire engines were called to the scene at around 4:15P.M. The incident was dialled down, reported to be “well under control,” by 8:00P.M.
Greater Manchester Fire Service stated publicly that the fire spread via the wooden balconies. External cladding — which was key in the exacerbation of the Grenfell Tower fire in West London — was apparently not involved, but a full investigation is still underway.
An eyewitness’ footage of the fire appears to show one remarkable individual breaking down a partition between two balconies in order to free their neighbour. The neighbour looks as if they were trapped in their apartment, one of the several to be affected by the fire. They both appear to escape the blaze together.
Central Manchester MP Lucy Powell (@LucyMPowell) praised Manchester emergency services on Twitter: “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.” She also promised help from the council for those affected.
The Greater Manchester Fire Department (@manchesterfire) also tweeted in appreciation of their colleagues: “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! More updates to follow…”
