Flats evacuated amid top-floor blaze in Bournemouth
More than 60 firefighters have been battling a high-rise blaze in a block of flats in Bournemouth.
Engines from nine stations across Dorset were called to the fire in a top-floor apartment on Commercial Road just after 19:30 BST on Saturday.
It is not known how the fire started but it happened about the same time lightning storms hit the South.
Residents from 24 flats in the building were evacuated and provided overnight shelter, Bournemouth Council said.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue (DWFR) said fire engines from Westbourne, Springbourne, Redhill, Christchurch, Poole, Hamworthy, Verwood, Swanage and Wareham attended the scene in the town centre.
Crews used breathing apparatus and an aerial ladder to help put out the fire.
The fire safety team posted images of the damage on Twitter and said it was confined to one flat. The team praised the benefits of fire doors.
The apartment's occupants lost everything but got out safely, a DWFR spokesperson said.