Man Captures Moment His Building Catches Fire As He Grabs His Pets and Flees

A man has shared chilling footage of the moment he realized his apartment building was on fire, before grabbing his pets and escaping.

The resident, posting to TikTok under the name Somethincreepy, shared a clip to the site on Saturday, seen 1.5 million times, capturing the very moment he smells smoke.

The 26-year-old added an on-screen caption to the video, which can be seen here, saying: "That one time I noticed my old apartment starting to catch on fire."

The text says "smells smoke," and shows him getting up and looking out the window of the 200 square foot studio apartment. He gets dressed and pops a leash on his dog before putting his cat in a carrier, later confirming the pets were his "first priority."

The video continues: "I looked out the window and saw a bunch of flames climbing up the building. I started to panic but got dressed and grabbed my animals.

"I looked again and the flames had doubled in size. My cat started to smell the smoke and got scared then hid, but I found him quickly and we got out.

"People from the street started to yell at us to get out of the building. After getting my animals to safety I came back and saw embers burning my screen so I shut the window." In the background of the clip, voices can be heard telling people their building is ablaze, warning them to get out immediately.

"The firemen were p****d none of the fire alarms were going off even with the explosions. All my neighbors ran to the street with their pets. Check your smoke detectors people," the video continued.

In the clip loud bangs can be heard, which the pet owner, who stuffed his laptop in a pillowcase to take, later confirmed came from a truck, although it's not clear if it was connected to the building fire.

The chilling video was originally filmed in March, according to the timestamp, but the resident, whose bio indicates he lives in Hollywood, shared it this week as a warning.

Responding to comments from people thanking him for the eye-opener, he said: "Exactly why I wanted to share. Hoping this friends everyone to check their alarms and have stuff ready to go in case.

"Just to remind people stuff like this can still happen randomly and to be ready." He added it was "very scary," saying: "I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone."

In a follow-up, shared on Sunday, he confirmed he moved out a week after the fire, with a separate clip showing him confronting someone he identifies as the manager about why the fire alarms didn't go off.

In the video a voice, which is claimed to be the manager, can be heard saying, referencing the fire alarms: "They work as they're supposed to."

Eric Borja119 commented: "I remember being annoyed when fire alarm testing day was going on in our building. I shall no longer be annoyed by that."

ChiCityKat praised his response, saying: "Your actions and reactions are super important. People should learn from this video."

Gabriella commented: "My guy you literally did everything right. Closing a window does create a barrier to avoid spread and I'm glad you got out safe with the critters."

Shawn Dixon added: "That was the calmest panic I've ever seen."

Newsweek has reached out to somethincreepy for comment.