The frantic plea made to residents at a tower block after fire breaks out

Residents were told they 'need to get out' as crews made their way to a tower block fire. Multiple witnesses reported fireworks being aimed at the high-rise building in Kirkby, Merseyside, shortly after 8pm yesterday (October 16).

Firefighters arrived to discover a blaze on a 12th floor balcony at the Beech Rise flats, on Roughwood Road. Dozens stood in dressing gowns at the car park below, with some carrying pets after fleeing their homes.

They stood outside in the cold 'for hours' while firefighters worked at the scene, the Liverpool Echo reports. An orange glow was seen coming from the balcony in videos on social media before crews were able to tackle the flames.

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It wasn’t long before the blaze was extinguished, with emergency services remaining at the scene to search other floors of the building. One couple, who live on the 11th floor, said they chose to leave their home after noticing a number of fire engines arrive at the scene.

They said: “We heard the engines and sirens before the alarm went off. Once we saw a couple of fire engines arrive we decided to evacuate. I didn’t see anything happen, we walked down as people started coming and going. As we got to the lower floors we started to smell smoke.

“It was calm when we came out but we took a bit of distance to make sure we weren’t in the way, and we went to get food as it’s cold. We can see smoke damage to one of the balconies that they seem to be investigation.”

Another resident who was standing outside the