Staff rescue animals from vet clinic fire

Six people have been treated for smoke inhalation after staff at a Sydney veterinary clinic rescued dozens of animals from a fire.

The people were taken to Royal North Shore Hospital on Monday after the fire at the St Leonards' clinic in Sydney's north.

Dozens of cats and dogs were moved to safety by the vet's staff before fire crews arrived, Superintendent Ian Krimmer from NSW Fire Brigades said.

The fire was extinguished by firefighters and the building's sprinkler system.

Supt Krimmer said fire rescue staff appreciated the "wonderful effort" by staff under "immensely difficult conditions" to safely move the animals.

A spokeswoman for the Ambulance Service of NSW said the six people taken to hospital appear to have suffered only minor smoke inhalation.