This is the terrifying moment a woman had to be rescued from the 20th floor of a building on fire.
Heroic firefighters were caught on camera helping residents escape a high-rise block of flats in New York on Saturday that left more than 30 people injured - including five firefighters.
Two people were rushed to hospital in critical condition and two others were in a serious condition after becoming trapped on the 20th floor of the 37-story building on East 52nd Street in Manhattan.
According to the New York-Presbyterian Hospital there were 34 patients rushed to hospital and 28 had been discharged as of Sunday evening.
The New York Fire Department have praised their workers after remarkable footage showed firefighters using a rope to help a woman trapped in the inferno.
Patti Ryan, who shot the video, wrote on Twitter : "In my entire life I have never seen anything more #HEROIC than what I just witnessed from #NYC apt…Trying to escape smoke, she slipped, hanging 15-20 stories up. THANK U to our heroes!!!#FDNY@FDNY.”
Darren Harsch, one of the four firefighters involved in the dramatic rescue, said it is very unusual for firefighters to use rope.
He admitted: "This is an extremely rare type of rescue. We don’t do this often."
The fire department said the use of the rope was a “last resort” and isn't something used normally.
New York City Fire Department Deputy Assistant Chief Frank Leeb said the huge fire at the door of the apartment stopped residents from climbing out and escaping the fire.
He revealed there were four firefighters involved in trying to rescue a woman from the flats using the rope.
Video shows the moment a firefighter was lowered down to a woman who was seen hanging out of the window but had become stuck on a child gate.
Another firefighter was lowered to the window to grab hold of the woman so their colleague could try and release her from the gate, Mr Mr Leeb revealed.
Firefighter Artur Podgorsk said: “My role was to go under the victim and start to hold her weight, so the member above me could free her arm and I could hold her and bring her safely below.
“It is a team effort, you have to put trust in the members above and below you. This is why we train. When moments like this happen, there is no room for mistakes. We fall back on our training.”
Emergency services believe the cause of the fire was a lithium-ion battery connected to an e-bike - an electric scooter.
Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn confirmed there were at least five electric scooters in the block of flats when the inferno started.
Authorities believe a member of the building specialised in bike repairs.
In New York alone there have been over 200 fires and six deaths related to e-scooters and "micro-mobility" device batteries which is "an exponential increase" in fires, according to Mr Flynn.
