Kevin Synnott: Officers were confronted with fierce fire

"It was that bad, that it had broken through the roof and flames were actually leaping above the roof," he said.

"Two fire fighters wearing breathing apparatus were quickly sent to a first floor flat.

"Shortly after getting into it and fighting the fire, they found the body of a man."

Second death

Mr Sinnott said 20 fire fighters were on the scene at the height of the blaze.

"One of the biggest problems was that in each of the blocks there are six flats," he said.

"So we had to make sure that there was no-one else in those flats who needed our assistance.

"Thankfully, all the flats were unoccupied."

It was the second fire death in a block of flats in Northern Ireland within the space of a few days.

A blaze at flats in west Belfast on Wednesday claimed the life of a 58-year-old man.