Two men rescued from house blaze

Firefighters had to cut through metal shutters to tackle the blaze.

Two men, aged in their 20s, have been rescued from a "suspicious" fire at a office/residential complex in Belfast.

The fire at Oceanic Avenue, off the Antrim Road, started in the adjoining office complex at about 0600 on Friday, and also spread to an oil tank and van.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus helped the men from the blazing building.

The early morning incident, from which the two men escaped uninjured, caused traffic disruption in the area.

It took emergency services some time to gain access to the blaze and they had to cut through metal shutters to do so.

Fire service Assistant Group Commander Gary Thompson said the blaze was "suspicious".

Eight fire engines were sent to the scene of the blaze

"If it had not been for the quick action of the three firefighters who rescued the two men then it would have been a different outcome," he said.

"What concerns us is that the smoke alarms in the residential area were not working and they were asleep but unhurt."

A total of 34 firefighters and eight appliances were used to tackle the blaze, which at one stage was twice the height of nearby houses, having been fuelled by the oil tank.