Man on a ledge: Heart-stopping moment a worker narrowly escapes burning apartment after dangling from a window and is rescued by daring team of strangers

Dramatic footage captured the moment a group of workers helped rescue a man from a burning New York apartment block.
A fire had broken out in a Washington Heights building when a man in a red shirt was seen standing on a window ledge, five floors up, whilst thick black smoke poured out from behind him.
Two workers on the fire escape believed they could help the man who then decides to dangle down from the ledge precariously.

Man on a ledge: A man dangle precariously out of a fifth floor apartment window in New York's Washington Heights

Madness: Before a ladder can be put in place, a worker decides to see if he can reach the apartment by stretching across the void

The limit: The man in red can take no more of the fumes and decided to dangle precariously out of the apartment

Ladder in place: The ladder is securely in place but it's still a long way down!

Rosendo Lopez, a building super, brought a ladder to the fire escape and after the worker made his way to a fourth-floor window directly below, a group of men created a bridge with the ladder and helped him across.
The men attempt to secure the ladder so that it won't move but the ladder is shaky and can be seen flailing as the workers try to secure it. 

Heart-stopping moment man narrowly escapes burning building

 

Eventually, the ladder is secured by resting one end on the railings of the fire escape, with the other protruding through a  fourth floor window.

Balancing act: The brave neighbor treads carefully across the ladder to reach the escaping man

Caught! Incredibly the daring neighbor managed to catch the man as he lets go of the widow ledge, whilst still several floors above the ground without any kinds of support whatsoever

Smoked out: Smoke is still billowing as the duo make their way back to the fire escape

Sirens can be heard as the fire department arrive, but as they're still several floors below, it's not known if they'll make it in time.
As the smoke billows out of the fifth floor window,  finally, one man jumps onto the horizontal-laying ladder and risks his own life by walking across the void between the fire escape and the window ledge.
He manages to guide the dangling man's feet onto the thin, round steps of the ladder, four stories above solid concrete.
Cheers are heard as the two men grab one another and slowly crouch back onto the fire escape.
A firefighter arrives on the scene to see the two men on the ladder and begins shouting 'Get over here! Get off, get off!'

Safe at last! Cheers are heard as the man and his rescuer make it back to the fire escape

The man who recorded the whole incident gives them a message of his own: 'You guys are late, beat it!'
The two make it safely a seriously injured.