Firefighters tackled a blaze inside a block of flats which forced all residents to leave their homes last night.
The fire, in Garside Street in the centre of Bolton, was reported just after 9pm on Monday.
Around 27 firefighters were called the blaze at the six floor block - which has around 48 flats.
The fire was was discovered inside a third-floor flat, with smoke plumes billowing upward to other floors.
Firefighters said it was a 'very well developed' fire and specialist fire crews were brought in from around Greater Manchester to deal with it.
Police also arrived and cordoned the street as residents were outside.
The fire was contained in the flat and it is believed it began in a bedroom, according to firefighters.
There was no one in at the time and there are no reports of injuries.
It took around three hours to bring the fire under control as firefighters were on the scene until midnight.
Fire investigators are at the scene this morning trying to establish the cause.
Crews from Bolton Central Fire Station led the response.
Watch Manager Mark Murphy said: "The fire was on the third floor. It was a very well-developed fire - thankfully it was contained to the flat itself but due to the volume of smoke we had to evacuate the rest of the building.
"There was nobody in the flat at the time - though it is occupied - and no one was taken to hospital but we work as if there is somebody in the flats so we had to search the block.
"There were pockets of people who had not responded to the fire alarms sounding and there were some people who needed assistance to get out."
"I can understand everybody's fears but this situation at this block of flats was different to others," he said.
"It was not a typical high-rise, just six floors, which meant it did not have any of the enhancement on external cladding in the way a tall block of flats in the centre Manchester would.
"It was also brick-built, so the fire behaved in a way we could predict and the way we hoped it would. It was a consideration - but not something that was observed.
"Due to the complex nature of the incident, when there is a high-rise involved, we send quite a lot of resources.
"It is a situation where there is going to be plenty of people needing evacuation and access is not as easy as a terraced house in the middle of a street," Mr Murphy added.
"In total we sent seven fire engines, with around four crew members each. We had a hydraulic platform and some other specialist equipment from around Greater Manchester. Thankfully we didn't need them."
