Castlereagh Councillor Michael Long said: “This was a deeply shocking incident and my thoughts are with those in the flats at the time who had to be rescued.
“I want to praise the bravery of the firefighters who battled the blaze and rescued these three people. We all owe our emergency services a debt of gratitude for the work they do in dealing with dangerous situations on a daily basis to protect the public.
“This was a very traumatic incident for all those who were evacuated, and people in the area are shock at it.”
ENDS