Firefighters at the scene of a fire at the Obel Tower building in Belfast. Photo: Kevin Scott / Presseye

Firefighters at the scene of a fire at the Obel Tower building in Belfast. Photo: Kevin Scott / Presseye

Firefighters at the scene of a fire at the Obel Tower building in Belfast. Photo: Kevin Scott / Presseye

A fire at Ireland's tallest building, the Obel Tower in Belfast, was accidental, the Fire and Rescue Service has said.

The blaze, on Friday evening, was caused by an electrical fault in high voltage cabling.

Residents were evacuated from the top 10 floors of the landmark city centre building. The PSNI closed surrounding roads.

Nine fire appliances and 50 officers were called to deal with the incident.

Five flats in the complex sustained water damage and 269 sq ft (25 sq m) of roof panels were fire damaged.

Lenny Entwistle, a group commander with the Fire and Rescue Service, said it was a complex operation.

"In any fire in a building of that size it is difficult for us to establish a fire-fighting platform," he said.

"Last night there were high winds as well and we had the possibility of debris being blown from the top of Obel on to the Post Office sorting office, the motorway and railway lines."

The tower at Donegall Quay contains 233 apartments and measures 85 metres (279 ft) in height.

Construction started on the ambitious Obel tower project at Donegall Quay during the dying days of the property boom in 2006.

Emergency services at the Obel Tower Belfast pic.twitter.com/biuKXDT05h — Claire Graham (@JournoClaire) January 23, 2015

After some interruption during the construction process, it was completed in 2011 at a cost of £60m and became the tallest building in Ireland, overtaking Windsor House.

It includes 233 apartments in the high rise tower, but also hosts a number of businesses on lower floors, including international law firm Allen & Overy and the Mount Charles operated eaterie Fed and Watered.

Administrators were appointed to Obel Ltd in 2012, Obel Offices Ltd and Donegall Quay Ltd.

Belfast Telegraph