A man with a gun has forced police in a suburb of Launceston to bring in negotiators and the heavily armoured Bearcat truck, in an attempt to end a stand-off which started at 4:30pm on Friday.

Police stop access to streets near the scene of the siege in New World Avenue. ( ABC News: Laura Beavis )

Residents in and around New World Avenue, Trevallyn, reported hearing multiple gunshots and watching police taking cover behind cars.

On Friday night police confirmed that multiple shots had been fired from the home, and said that a man and a woman known to each other had barricaded themselves inside. The siege has continued overnight and into this morning, entering its 14th hour at 6:00am AEDT.

"Until the situation at Trevallyn is safely resolved, people living in the nearby area may hear a range of loud noises over the next few hours and potentially throughout the night," Commander Brett Smith said just before midnight.

Earlier, police said no-one had been injured but that they had evacuated homes in the area "as a precaution".

The Special Operations Group attended late on Friday afternoon, with police command telling media and the public they were "trying to safely resolve the matter as soon as we can".

Police negotiators arrived soon after the stand-off began and had attempted to convince the man to surrender peacefully, police said.

Special Operations Group police approach the scene in New World Avenue, Trevallyn, on Friday afternoon. ( ABC News: Laura Beavis )

A witness, Zeke Lanham, told the ABC he was driving with his mother when they saw police officers "taking cover behind cars holding guns".

"My mum asked the cop what was going on. He explained there was a siege at this house and to go to our home, and we noticed that there were policeman taking cover behind cars holding guns.

"Then we drove up to our home, where we heard multiple gunshots over the course of an hour."

Locals gather near the scene, watched over by Tasmania Police officers. ( ABC News: Laura Beavis )

Lauren, a local resident who lives on New World Avenue, said she knew something was wrong when she got home from work.

"There were police everywhere. We saw police running up and down the street."

"We have heard gunshots. We heard gunshots the weekend before.

"At first I thought it was fireworks, but my husband said it was gunshots."

The location is near an address in New World Avenue, Trevallyn, where a 47-year-old woman was shot in the leg on Wednesday.

Upon nightfall, the Tasmanian Police Bearcat armoured vehicle arrived at the scene, with police expected to update media on the situation later in the night.