A mother and her five-year-old son became trapped in a bedroom while a fire blazed in their kitchen.
The pan fire broke out in the home in Boundary Road, Hove, on Saturday at 1.15pm.
A smoke detector alerted the woman and she rushed to rescue her son from a bedroom.
But the door closed behind her and when she tried to open it the handle came off.
Red Watch crews from Hove fire station put out the fire and escorted the mother and son to safety from a balcony.
Paramedics and police attended but the pair did not need hospital treatment.
Leading Firefighter Paul Coppard said the blaze only caused minor damage.
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