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A dad of three has described the frightening moment he rushed to rescue his five-month-old baby from a fire that was engulfing his apartment building. Fire crews raced to Smithdown Road in Liverpool at around 10pm on Sunday May 10 after a massive blaze broke out on the roof of a building near the junction with Barrington Road.

Horror footage from the scene shows the fire tearing through the roof of the building with fire engines swarming the area. Hero dad Muneeb Ansari says he had been drinking a green tea on Sunday in his flat with his three children when a fire alarm sounded at approximately 10pm. Mr Ansari who has been living in the flats since the end of 2024 said the stairwell leading up to the top-floor flats had collapsed, along with the roof, where firefighters were seen tackling the blaze.

He told the Echo: "He said: "I had just sat down with my green tea when we heard the fire alarm. My daughter ran down and saw the smoke coming from the takeaway. I went down and just ran back into the flat to grab my five-month-old baby.

"At first we thought it was a false alarm as it has happened before but we could smell the smoke. The fire went straight up the chimney and onto the roof."

Mr Ansari, who has now been left homeless, said his "landlord has been great," explaining that she called him straight away and offered to return his deposit along with a month's rent to help him.

He is now trying to find alternative housing from the council. Another local resident described it as sounding "like a bomb going off" just moments before the flames became visible.

Fire crews battled the blaze until the early hours of this morning.

Smithdown Road has now reopened in both directions following emergency services inspecting the scene of last night's fire.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Fire and Rescue service (MFRS) said: "MFRS crews have worked diligently through the night to bring this incident to a close, with the fire extinguished at 00.27 on the morning of Monday 11 May.

"Firefighters damped down hot spots at the scene and monitor temperatures, with the aerial appliance in use externally.

"By 00.42, the incident begun to scale down with 6 fire engines in attendance, a further two engines were released at 01.26.

"Crews removed roof tiles to check for hotspots and monitor temperatures, while utilities to the premises were isolated.

"At 03.50, crews carried out a search of the entire property before firefighters made up their equipment and handed over the scene to Merseyside Police, before leaving at 03.58.

"An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing."