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Two firefighters died after a tower block blaze went "completely out of control", witnesses said today.

Dozens of residents had to be evacuated from Shirley Towers in Church Street, Southampton in England, after the fire broke out on the ninth floor at around 8pm last night.

The flat where the fire started was home to a single mother with two children, all of whom escaped uninjured, according to neighbours.

Investigations were under way this morning into how the fire was apparently then able to rip through the tower block.

The two deaths leave a "devastating hole" in Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, fire chiefs said.

Mother-of-two Kristina Baldacchino, who watched the incident unfold, said emergency services were struggling to get the blaze under control.

The 41-year-old, who runs the nearby Kings Arms pub, said: "I really can't understand what went wrong. We saw the fire engines arrive at what appeared to be a small fire in a flat. From the outside it really didn't seem that severe.

"Yet within an hour it was ripping through the entire block. It was a complete inferno and seemed to have gone completely out of control - even though Church Street was absolutely choc-a-bloc with fire engines, emergency services and even a crane.

"Some of the residents were told to stay in their flats, while others were evacuated."

Ms Baldacchino added: "It was a complete tragedy and we had people into my pub afterwards - they were all very shaken.

"I have heard no one was living in the flat where it started so we're not sure if there was an electrical fault."

The landlady said there had been a chip-pan fire in the block five to seven years ago which sparked similar scenes.

She said: "I was living in the block at the time - I think that fire was on the 11th floor. You would have thought there would have been investigations into fire safety at the time."

Nearby roads were cordoned off as 20 fire appliances and supporting vehicles from stations across Hampshire were sent to deal with the incident.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer John Bonney said: "This is an incredibly difficult and sad time for myself and everyone in Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.

"The two firefighters will be sadly missed and will leave a devastating hole in the service. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families at this tragic time and we are giving them all the support we can.

"This is not only a devastating loss to our service but is a loss to the whole fire service community. During these incredibly difficult circumstances, firefighters at the scene undertook the successful evacuation and rescue of a number of people.

"Their professionalism, under truly difficult conditions, has been admirable and a testament to our service."

Brian Pond said he and his pregnant daughter were trapped inside the building for more than two hours.

He told GMTV: "We were stuck on the seventh floor. I got my daughter out, got her downstairs."

He added: "All you could see coming out the windows was fire out the front, flames coming out the window, black smoke, and when we went round to the back it was the same there."

Another two firefighters were taken to hospital by ambulance with minor burns to their hands.

The fire service said it was called to the building at 8.14pm last night.

A joint police and fire service investigation into the cause was underway and the Health and Safety Executive was informed, said a spokesman.

Residents were provided with emergency accommodation last night by Southampton City Council.

A safety alert was sparked at the tower block in 2002 when two men plummeted 200ft to their deaths down a lift shaft.

The men, in their early 20s, were believed to have been involved in a fight after leaving a top-floor flat when they hit the lift doors - which sprang open.

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April 7, 2010