A man was spotted leaping heroically from a burning building with a baby tucked into his boxer shorts in Manchester.
Emergency services rushed to Lochawe Close in Heywood just before 3pm on Thursday following reports of the inferno that ripped through four flats.
A smashed window on the first floor is thought to be the place a daring man made his jump to safety with the little one.
Three people are understood to have been taken to hospital for smoke inhalation, with locals saying the roof of the housing complex had ‘caved in’.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: ‘At just before 2.55pm on Thursday (March 13) GMFRS were called to a fire involving four maisonette flats on Lochawe Close, Heywood.
‘A number of fire engines and special appliances were quickly mobilised to the scene with surrounding properties evacuated. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used jets to extinguish the fire and are dampening down any remaining hot spots.
‘Crews remain in attendance alongside Greater Manchester Police and North West Ambulance Service.’
One resident told Manchester Evening News she had seen the man tuck the five-month-old into his boxer shorts and leap from the burning first floor flat to the ground.
Emergency services rushed to Lochawe Close in Heywood just before 3pm on Thursday following reports of the inferno that ripped through four flats
A smashed window on the first floor is thought to be the place a daring man made his jump to safety with the little one
Another local described running out of a nearby shop when he saw smoke before banging on doors to help awaken occupants.
Liam Hughes, 35, said: ‘I was in the shops and saw the smoke and ran up there, banging on the windows to get everyone out.
‘If I had not gone there it could have been a lot worse.
‘None of them had any clothes on.’
A cordon has been put in place, with police officers seen standing guard on surrounding streets.
John Scheerhout, who was on scene, said another man called Anthony Wright, 34, had also reported leaping from his first floor flat.
Mr Scheerhout said on X, formerly Twitter: ‘He said he saw his neighbour, the man who leapt out with his baby, and the neighbour told him he and his baby were “fine”.’
Fire engines and paramedics swarm the street amid reports of a serious incident
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