Kimora Lee Simmons is lucky to be alive after escaping a terrifying house fire

In a post on Instagram, she wrote: "My house caught fire. The kids and I are all fine. I cannot express the deepest gratitude to the numerous battalions, ladders and units that attended to us for many hours today and quite possibly saved our lives. THANK YOU!"

The mum-of-five shared pictures of firefights standing around a fireplace at her house which appeared to be billowing smoke.

Kimora is mum to Ming, 23, and Aoki, 21, with her ex-husband Russell Simmons as well as 14-year-old son Kenzo with ex-boyfriend Djimon Hounsou, Wolfe, eight, with her estranged second husband Tim Leissner and her adopted son Gary, 10.

She recently opened up about being a single mum and insisted her kids are always her top priority.

Kimora told PEOPLE: "Being a single mom, I think about my kids all the time and that's it. My kids, their friends, my other kids, like, you know, I have a lot. I feel like that's the work that I do every day to keep that smile on their face. And again, that smile means so much ...

"I'm a single mom of five kids and I know how hard it can be ... it doesn't matter if you're rich and famous, at the end of the day ... you're a community person, a caregiver, you're just there trying to make everything come together."