Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services says it has extinguished a blaze that destroyed an apartment building under construction, damaged nine nearby homes and appears to have caused a crane to collapse.

The fire in Vancouver鈥檚 west side broke out late Tuesday in a six-storey building and spread to several nearby houses.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue鈥檚 Assistant Chief Keith Stewart says the cause of the fire and the circumstances that led to the crane collapsing remain under investigation.

He says a couple of firefighters suffered minor injuries.

Stewart says that of the nine homes where the firefighters battled the blaze, two were left uninhabitable while the rest suffered minor damage.

While the fire was raging, city officials had warned that people who have underlying breathing conditions should leave the affected area and find a safe indoor space.

Dramatic video posted on social media while the fire was burning showed a crane toppling, as a huge column of thick black smoke billowed upwards from the top of a building.

The Canadian Press