Video: US firefighters save construction worker from blaze, and not a moment too soon

Man makes leap of faith onto firefighters' ladder

The man dangles from the apartment complex's top floor (YouTube)

A fire has raged through the AIG Campus in Houston, Texas, with a YouTube video shot by an onlooker capturing the daring rescue of a construction worker by firefighters as the complex burned around them.

Scroll down for the video

The clip, uploaded by user Karen Jones, was shot from a nearby building where horrified workers watched as the man sought refuge from the blaze on a top floor balcony.

As the fire spread his situation grew increasingly desperate, with the flames drawing closer to his location and plastic doors melting and peeling off the building.

The as yet unnamed man dropped down to a lower floor as firefighters rushed in with a mounted ladder to rescue him – the worker taking a leap of faith onto the ladder just moments before the fire ripped away half of the building.

The Houston Fire Department said the fire was "under control" by mid-afternoon Tuesday, two hours after it started, with all workers accounted for and no injuries reported.

More than 200 emergency personal responded to the apartment complex fire, the cause of which is now under investigation.

Another video uploaded on YouTube (above) and taken from further away shows the extent of the fire.