It looked like a live-action scene from a Hollywood movie. Actually, it was just a 35-year-old Philadelphia man descending along the wall of a 19-storey building to escape a fire.

Previously a roofer and construction worker, Jermaine or “Philadelphia’s spiderman”, as some channels are calling him, climbed down in less than three minutes, reaching the ground almost effortlessly. What is even more incredible is that the building had lost electricity, and Jermaine found his footing almost exclusively from the light of a helicopter.

The fire, which injured four residents and three police officers, started at a West Philadelphia building a little after 9 pm on Thursday evening. While the cause remains unknown, eyewitnesses reported that flames spread quickly and smoke filled all floors of the high-rise building.