The council leader says the fire is in a former local authority building now in the hands of developers.
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Fire crews in Leeds are tackling a large blaze in a city centre building.
The fire broke out on the top floors of a derelict high-rise building in Cookridge Street, near the city’s Millennium Square, at about 19:50 BST.
A number of nearby pubs and restaurants were evacuated, the fire service said.
Ten fire engines are working to extinguish the blaze and a safety cordon has been put in place as the fire service said the structure is “potentially unsafe”.
Image source, @samiscalm
Student, Will Dunaway, 18, said he had just left a restaurant on nearby Oxford Place with his family when he saw the fire.
“Whatever it was that was on fire it looked like it was the top part that was on fire, the bottom part looked pretty intact.
“There was a lot of crackling and some explosions, like a popping sound.
“Nobody appeared to be in any danger as far as I could tell.”
Image source, @samiscalm
West Yorkshire Fire Service said the police, ambulance service and a specialist response team are also on the scene.
At the scene – Tom Airey, BBC Yorkshire
It’s a busy Saturday night in central Leeds, with the nearby 02 Academy bustling with people for the annual Live at Leeds music festival.
Millennium Square has been taken over by fire engines, with police tape blocking off several streets.
The area smells strongly of burning plastics, with a hose on an aerial platform dousing flames in a building next to Leeds City Museum.
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