Firefighters attended a small blaze in a flat in North Shields on Friday evening.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service were called to the premises above a take-away on Union Street after the alarm was raised at about 6pm. Two crews arrived with firefighters cordoning off the road.
A number of people were evacuated from businesses in the street.
Our photographer at the scene said the incident seemed to have originated from the upper level above businesses such as Sambuca and Porky's takeaway.
While the incident was ongoing Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has said crews were "investigating" at the scene but would not confirm the nature of the incident. Firefighters were seen entering the premises with a smell of burning in the air throughout the night.
Crews began packing up and left the scene after 8pm.
A fire service spokesperson later told Chroniclelive: "It was a very small electrical fire in a commercial premises."
To read how we reported the incident as it happened and see pictures, click here
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