Seven people are led to safety from a fire in Belfast

The blaze happened at apartments, where smoke alarms alerted residents.

A Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) spokesperson said they were called to reports of a fire at Springfield Mill Apartments, Belfast at 10.40pm on Friday.

"Five appliances, including one aerial appliance, from Springfield, Cadogan and Westland stations attended the incident.

“Firefighters using breathing apparatus and other specialist equipment quickly brought the incident under control and led seven people to safety from within the building. Fire Service Regional Control Centre emergency call handlers initially provided fire survival advice via telephone to one resident until Firefighters arrived.”

The spokesperson added: “Residents were alerted to the fire at an early stage by smoke alarms sounding which enabled them to quickly raise the alarm and minimise the impact of the fire, the cause of which has been determined as accidental. Firefighters left the scene shortly before midnight”