A homeless man in Las Vegas has been praised for rescuing two small children from a burning apartment after he heard them crying.

Anival Angulo, 36, rescued the three-year-old girl and 10-month-old boy after he noticed smoke coming from the building.

After walking around the building to investigate the smoke, Mr Angulo heard the children crying and jumped over a locked gate to gain access to the apartment complex, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue services said.

Mr Angulo discovered the three-year-old girl standing near a locked security door in front of the smoke-filled apartment. Authorities said he started pulling on the steel door and was able to bend it upwards, which unlatched the deadbolt and opened the door.

“The little girl ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist,” a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue services said. “He could see through the smoke the leg of an infant on the floor. He reached down and pulled the infant out. Both of the kids were taken away from the building to a safe area.

“Without the quick action of Angulo, the children would have probably suffered severe smoke inhalation with burns. His action certainly saved the children’s life.”

The security door that Mr Angulo pulled open to save the children (Las Vegas Fire and Rescue)

The children were treated for minor smoke inhalation at hospital.

Firefighters received multiple calls about an apartment that was on fire with small children trapped inside. They had the fire under control within 10 minutes of arriving at the scene.

The fire has been ruled accidental, and is expected to have started as a cooking fire on the stove that quickly spread across the kitchen.