Fire engulfs council block in North London as dozens of firefighter rushed to the building

Nearly 60 firefighters battled a huge blaze in a block of flats in London tonight.

Fire crews rushed into the building in Mansfield Road, in the Gospel Oak area, due to a blaze in a flat on the second floor.

A small section of a flat on the third and fourth floor was also damaged by the fire, which was reported at around 9.30pm.

The second floor flat was badly fire-damaged but nobody was in at the time.

One man was treated by London Ambulance Service for smoke inhalation.

Several people in the hallways, stairwells and common parts of the block were told to evacuate, London Fire Brigade said.

Those in their flats away from the fire and smoke were told to stay in their flat.

Twitter picture shows firefighters at the scene (Photo: Heather Doune/Twitter)

The damage to the flats can be seen on the outside of the building (Photo: Heather Doune/Twitter)

LFB tweeted at just after 9.30pm: "Nearly 60 firefighters are dealing with a fire in a flat on Mansfield Road #WestHampstead."

Shortly afterwards they tweeted: The fire at Mansfield Road #GospelOak is now under control. Crews will be damping down for some time."

It comes just over a week after the Grenfell Tower fire in west London which left at least 79 people dead.

Smoke could be seen billowing from the flat (Photo: Heather Doune/Twitter)

Station Manager Wayne Johnson said: “It is incidents like this which show how important it is to know what to do in the event of a fire, especially if you live in a flat.

"If there is a fire in another part of your building while you are inside your purpose-built flat or maisonette, and you're not affected by the fire stay put and call 999.

“There is lots of helpful advice on our website which explains what to do in the event of a fire.

"I would also urge everyone to fit smoke alarms in their homes and test them regularly.”