The key facts

  • The fire broke out on November 1 on Marshal Zhukov Street in Mezhdurechye (Bashkiria)
  • Three people were rescued, including a disabled person who could not leave the house on their own
  • One of the rescuers suffered burns to his head; the fire was extinguished by firefighters who arrived

What happened

In Mezhdurechye, Bashkiria, two men returning home from work rescued three people from a burning private house. This was reported by the Main Directorate of the Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) of Russia for the region. The fire broke out on November 1 on Marshal Zhukov Street: the veranda of the house was on fire, and inside there was a person who could not get out on their own.

How events unfolded

Alexander Gusev and Alexander Bazhenov are firefighters, but that evening they were not on duty. A neighbor told them that a disabled person was inside the house. Gusev entered the veranda, found the person stuck in a wheelchair, lifted them onto himself, but the corridor was already engulfed in flames. According to the Emergencies Ministry's account, he decided to temporarily leave the victim in a safe place and break through the fire to another exit — in the process, he suffered burns to his head. From outside, he broke a window, climbed inside together with Bazhenov, and pulled the disabled person out into the fresh air.

The outcome

While searching the house, the rescuers found two more people who were in shock and not responding to words — they were also brought outside. After that, Gusev gathered warm clothing in the house and gave it to the victims, while Bazhenov searched the premises again to make sure no one was left inside. Firefighters who arrived extinguished the fire. The ministry noted that that evening the men «could have stayed on the sidelines», but their professional duty and readiness to help proved stronger than fear. Earlier, a similar incident occurred in Crimea: a six-year-old girl saved her younger sisters and brother from a fire.