Some 23 people, including children, were rescued from a fire at a block of flats in Southampton, after some threatened to jump from the building.
A huge fireball swept up the stairwell of the five-storey block in Wimpson Lane, trapping residents.
"We were faced with considerably large amounts of smoke... with people threatening to jump from their balconies," a firefighter said.
A 47-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the fire.
"I was just shouting out, saying 'help get me out of here'"
No-one was hurt but an 11-month-old boy was taken to hospital as a precaution.
The residents were trapped in the block until firefighters led them to safety.
"A lot of lives were saved today," incident commander Dan Tasker, of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, added.
"Not just because of the quick actions of the firefighters but also because of the fact they had smoke detectors and those smoke detectors were working."
One resident, called Vicky, described how her flat filled with fumes: "I've got the kids all out on the balcony, I'm round the back and the firemen are round the front.
"I was just shouting out, saying 'help get me out of here'.
"I saw the flames and felt the heat. I said 'I can't stay in the flat it's filled with smoke'."
'Holding children'
She was rescued with her children by firefighters using a ladder.
Firefighter Andy Feelon said some of the residents had tried to come down the stairwell carrying their children as the fire worsened.
"When conditions became untenable because of the rapid fire development we withdrew and, at that point, it was obvious that some of the residents had come down the stairs holding children, and asked us to go and find the rest of their children in one of the upper floor flats," he said.
It took about two-and-a-half hours to put out the fire, which began at 0230 GMT.
The flats were mostly undamaged and residents were soon allowed back into the building.
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