WATCH | Terrifying moment man catches baby dropped from third-floor window

A fire at a residential building in Dallas in the US forced a mother to drop her year-old baby from a third-floor window into the arms of a bystander below.

USA Today quotes mom Shuntara Thomas as saying "it was terrifying".

"I didn’t know if I was going to come down with her or if that would be the last time that I was holding my child," she said.

According to USA Today, Byron Campbell, a stranger who was standing below with his arms out, persuaded Thomas to let her daughter go.

"She let go and I caught it," said Campbell. "I held on like a football and didn't let go."