This is the kind of blog/statement I hoped I would never have to write - but, tragically, it is with great sadness that I have to confirm the death of one of our colleagues, who has died while tackling a large fire in Manchester City Centre.

Stephen Hunt, a firefighter at Philips Park, was part of the team responding to a blaze in Paul's Hair World in Oldham Street. This has been a particularly difficult incident due to the complex layout of the building and the amount of materials inside. Unfortunately, he got into difficulty inside the building at around 8.35pm on Saturday 13th July, along with another Firefighter, and both were pulled out by their colleagues before being taken to hospital.

Sadly Stephen died, whilst his colleague remains in hospital though thankfully his injuries are not life threatening.

We are devastated by the loss of one of our colleagues who has died in the line of duty and, whilst we never expect to lose a colleague in this way, it brings home the dangers that our firefighters put themselves in every day to keep the community safe.

It is a very sad day for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and all our thoughts are with Stephen's family and friends.

Details of exactly what happened are unclear at this stage but will be investigated thoroughly and independently. In that regards, we have asked our neighbouring Fire and Rescue Services to immediately start an investigation into the incident and circumstances leading to this terrible tragedy and we are working alongside Greater Manchester Police to establish the cause of the fire. At this stage arson is not being ruled out -  nor is it being identified as the cause.

The fire in Oldham Street is still being dealt with and firefighters are expected to be there through the night and into Sunday. They are clearly devastated by the loss of their colleague and I pay tribute to their professionalism, courage and dedication - while in mourning they are continuing to keep the community safe. During this horrendous situation unfolding we also dealt with a number of other serious property fires where members of the public were involved.

I would also like to thank the Ambulance Service's HART team who battled to save our colleague.

Throughout yesterday we received tremendous support from the community for our efforts in tackling the blaze. We are sure that members of the public will want to express their sympathies and we would ask people to do this through our Facebook page www.facebook.com/manchesterfire