Parisian fire hero: 4 children and 2 adults saved by caretaker balancing on 6th-floor ledge

A 39-year-old man is being hailed a national hero in France after rescuing six people from a burning apartment block in Paris on Friday, July 4.

Fousseynou Cissé, a school caretaker, leapt into action when he saw smoke pouring from a neighbour’s flat in the 18th arrondissement. Rather than flee, he scaled out of a window, balanced on a narrow sixth-floor ledge, and began pulling trapped residents to safety one by one.

“I didn’t think twice. Their lives were in danger,” Cissé told Le Parisien.

Viral footage on X shows nail-biting rescue

The dramatic moment was captured on video by a neighbour and later shared widely online. In the footage, Cissé is seen standing outside the window of a smoke-filled apartment, grabbing a baby and then a toddler, and handing them through the neighbouring apartment window.

He went on to rescue two other young children and two women, making sure each one safely crossed the ledge to the adjoining flat.

According to France Info, Cissé had just arrived home with his wife and two-year-old child when he heard the fire alarm. A neighbour alerted him to the people trapped upstairs, prompting him to act.

“Given the amount of smoke, they and their children could have suffocated. Their last hope was to throw themselves out the window… I didn’t ask myself the question.”

Macron honours the ‘Parisian hero’

Since the rescue, Cissé has been flooded with praise across France. Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said the caretaker will receive a medal on Sunday, July 13, in recognition of his bravery.

President Emmanuel Macron personally called Cissé on Tuesday, July 8, to congratulate him and has invited him to attend the Bastille Day parade on July 14, 20 Minutos reports. Paris City Hall also dubbed him “our Parisian hero” in a tribute posted on social media.

“In his daily life, Fousseynou Samba Cissé is a Parisian civil servant, but last weekend he saved a family trapped in their apartment from the flames,” the city hall caption read.

Calls grow for Cissé’s citizenship

Despite his heroic act, Cissé is not a French citizen. He currently holds a residence permit that allows him to work, but he cannot be employed full-time by Paris City Hall due to his immigration status.

Read about the fire in Marseille that has destroyed hundreds of hectares.

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