'Spiderman' firefighter beats colleague up nine-storey building

A Spanish firefighter has impressed millions around the world after he managed to scale a nine-storey building in less than 40 seconds.

Video footage of a training drill at a fire station in Madrid shows the agile firefighter racing his colleague up the building.

As one of the firefighters sprints up the stairs, the second man climbs up the side of the building at an almost unbelievable pace.

The Spiderman firefighter, as he has been dubbed online, beats his colleague on the stairs by several seconds.

The impressive display of skills has racked up more than 3 million views since it was posted on Facebook on November 6, with many describing the pair as heroes.

“These sort of people don't normally appear in the media or get paid huge salaries like politicians,” Llanos Rodriguez Romero wrote in a post.

“But they risk their lives every time they go out to help a person who is in difficulty.”

Concerns about the climber’s safety were alleviated when it was confirmed he was wearing a safety harness.