Neighbours watched in horror as a little boy was stretchered out of a flat blaze as paramedics administered CPR in a fight to save his life.
Emergency crews were called to a flat fire which has left a six-month-old baby girl and six-year-old boy fighting for their lives.
A woman, believed to be the mother of the two children, is also in a critical condition in hospital after a fire at flats in Stoke-on-Trent.
A neighbour said: ‘Two girls came and knocked my door this morning to tell me there was a fire.
A woman and two young children, including a six-month-old baby girl, are fighting for their lives after a flat fire in Stoke-on-Trent
Police said all three emergency services were called to reports of a blaze in Ringland Close, Northwood, at about 6am on Sunday
The block of flats was badly damaged in the blaze and on Sunday a charred sofa could be seen on the grass outside
‘We stood in the rain and watched as we saw what looked like a little boy, wheeled out on a stretcher, while the paramedic was on the trolley doing CPR and pumping his chest.
‘I’ll never forget that image, it’s heart breaking.
‘The street was covered in smoke.’
It is believed that the fire started in the privately owned, ground floor flat belonging to the young family around 6am in Ringland Close, Hanley.
The cause of the blaze is currently unknown while emergency services continue their investigation.
Residents from six flats were evacuated and placed in temporary accommodation.
A man has been treated for an ankle injury after jumping from a first floor window after the blaze in a ground floor property
Police confirmed all flats had been searched and all residents were out of the building
The outside of the building was badly damaged in the fire, which started on Sunday morning
Another neighbour told how her hero son burst into the burning block of flats in an attempt to pull out trapped residents and caught others as they jumped from the building.
The woman, who lives in the adjoining block, said she was alerted to the blaze when she heard a lady screaming for help.
The mother, who did not want to be named, said they were alerted by a woman crying out that there had been a fire, before the alarms had gone off.
She said: ‘My son started banging on the windows of the bottom floor flats and eventually was able to get inside.
‘He wanted to get on to the upper floors to save people there, but the flames and the smoke were just too severe for him to be able to move any further.
‘He and some other people were stood outside catching people who were jumping from the first floor.
The mother and her three children are fighting for their lives at Royal Stoke Hospital
One neighbour told how her hero son ran into the flats to try and save those inside
‘Unfortunately one of the gentleman was just a bit too heavy and slipped through his hands.
‘He hurt his ankle, but it doesn’t sound like it’s too severe at all and it might not even be a break.’
The woman also praised the response of the emergency services.
She added: ‘My son was devastated that he couldn’t get to the woman and her two children, he is very emotional about it today.
‘We’re just hoping that they come out of it OK. I don’t believe they lived in the flat where the fire broke out. ‘