This video shows the scale of the damage a fire caused to a dental practice on the Isle of Man.

Flames ripped through the site on Orchard Road in Port Erin during the early hours of Monday.

Firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze at the Port Erin Dental Practice after the alarm was raised just after 1am.

Staff from the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service reported seeing flames ‘coming out of the windows’ of the property while gas cylinders could be heard ‘exploding’ inside the practice.

It is understood that one of the residents living in the flats above the practice managed to phone emergency services after the building's smoke alarms were triggered.

All occupants inside the flats above the practice had left the property by the time emergency services arrived at the scene.

Six teams of firefighters then spent around four hours battling the blaze.

According to emergency service staff at the scene on Monday, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

In the aftermath of the blaze one passer-by said the fire had left the practice ‘burned to a crisp’.

Manx Care has confirmed that all planned appointments at the site had been scrapped for the ‘foreseeable future’.

In a statement issued on Monday morning, a Manx Care spokesperson said: ‘The practice are working closely with Manx Care and will keep patients updated accordingly.

‘The practice will be in touch with their patients in due course with regards to their future appointments.’

Patients who require an emergency appointment for pain, bleeding or swelling have been told to contact the owner of Port Erin Dental Practice’s other site, the Square Dental Practice in Douglas, on 621440.

Pictures taken at the scene around the time of the fire show a firefighters using an aerial ladder platform extended above the building in an attempt to bring the flames under control. 

Another image taken by the fire service shows staff entering a part of the blackened building left charred by smoke and flames. 

According to the fire service, the consequences of the blaze could have been much worse were it not for the smoke alarms inside the property.

‘This incident highlights the importance of working smoke alarms, when there is a fire, smoke spreads fast,’ added station officer Matt Tyrer. 

‘Working smoke alarms save lives, they give early warning in the case of fire which can enable occupants to get out of the property in the early stages of a fire, which in turn allows us to get to you more quickly.’