A man has suffered severe burns after a fire broke out in a top floor unit of an apartment building in Meadowbank in Sydney’s north this afternoon.

Initial reports suggested the fire had been triggered by an explosion in the apartment’s kitchen about 3.30pm, a NSW Police spokesman said.

Other residents living in the building were ordered to evacuate and multiple ambulances and a Careflight helicopter rushed to the apartment complex.

The man is believed to be aged in his 30s or 40s.

“One patient is being treated for severe burns to the majority of their body, ” a NSW Ambulance spokesman said.

Pictures posted on a local community Facebook group on Monday show large plumes of smoke billowing from the building located on Angus Street near Bay Drive.

In one video posted online, flames could be seen on the balcony while fire had engulfed windows on both sides of the corner apartment. Debris was falling from the unit while windows smashed to the ground.

A NSW Fire and Rescue spokesman said they had received numerous triple zero calls alerting them to the inferno. Eight fire trucks went to building and firefighters went inside to attack the blaze from inside.