A NEIGHBOUR has described the terrifying moment when they became trapped in their home as flames ripped through a tenement block in Shawlands.

The person - who asked not to be named - has lived in the building on Glasgow’s south side for 10 years, and said they realised there was a fire at around 9 am Wednesday when they went to open their door.

“Folk could have been killed in there, there was a dog upstairs I know it’s only a dog but it could have been loss of life in there.

“I couldn’t get out the door, I then phoned the fire department right away I phoned them twice.

“I went to try and get out again, I grabbed a rucksack and a jacket, but when I opened the door a second time I could feel the heat and the flames were so bad I knew I couldn't leave.

“You couldn’t see in there! I wouldn’t have known where I was going. So I stood in my window and then the fire brigade came pretty quickly,” they said.

Read more: Shawlands fire: Witness on moment blaze tore through Glasgow South Side tenement

The fire broke out in a first floor flat around 8.30 am and three fire crews arrived to tackle to blaze.

The eye witness said: “Once they were working on the fire I just kind of stayed at the window I knew I couldn’t get out of there, there was no chance.

“There could have been a loss of life, not just me but the girl across from me she works nights she could have been in there sleeping.

“When the fire department were here I knew then I was going to get out one way or another through the window or, but when they tried to get me down the stairs there was no chance of that.

"I would never have got down without losing consciousness, I could feel the heat.”

WATCH: Shawlands fire: Dramatic moment flames leap from Glasgow flat

The fire crews extinguished the flames sometime after 9 am, but by 12 pm the neighbour said they were still unsure when they would be able to return home.

“It’s mainly smoke damage but we don’t know when we’re going to get back in, when I looked out I was quite shocked at how bad it was myself,” they said.