VANCOUVER - A firefighter is being treated for undisclosed injuries as crews battle a fire at an apartment building in Vancouver's West End.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service says the four-alarm fire is "stubborn" and being fought under "challenging conditions."

The department says the firefighter is being treated by paramedics.

Photographs released by the department on its Twitter account show firefighters at a five-storey brick building with smoke coming from the roof.

One of the photos shows two ladders from fire trucks extended onto the roof of the building.

The fire department says several suites in the building have been badly damaged.

Roads have been blocked off in the area of the fire on the edge of the downtown core at Thurlow and Nelson streets.