Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters were called to a fire at a house in Woodside Green in Woodside.
Half of the second floor of the property was damaged by fire. Firefighters rescued one woman from the roof of the house and she was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
Watch Manager Peter Davis, who was at the scene, said: “When firefighters arrived, we could see that there was a woman on the roof of the house and flames coming out of a dormer window behind her.
“The woman had climbed out of the window because her escape route inside the property was blocked due to smoke. Crews quickly pitched a ladder to rescue the woman and brought her to safety.
“A crew wearing breathing apparatus went into the property and did a brilliant job at knocking back the fire which has started to breach the door to the room where the fire started. They contained the fire to the room of origin and stopped it from spreading within the property.”
Four other people left the property before the arrival of the Brigade.
The Brigade was called at 2304 and the fire was under control at 0116. Fire crews Woodside, Beckenham, Croydon, Forest Hill and West Norwood fire stations attended the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.