Paris Man Hailed as Hero After Rescuing Six People from Sixth-Floor Apartment Fire

Fousseynou Cissé saved two women and four children trapped in the smoke on the 6th floor of an Adoma building, following a fire in an apartment on the second floor

Paris, France — A 39-year-old Paris man is being celebrated across France after risking his life to save six people, including four children, from a blazing sixth-floor apartment in the French capital. President Emmanuel Macron and other top officials have praised Fousseynou Cissé for his bravery, with the Paris police chief set to formally honor him with a medal for courage on July 13.

The dramatic rescue took place on Friday as flames engulfed a residential building. Cissé, who had already evacuated with his wife and child, sprang into action after a neighbor informed him that two families were still trapped on the upper floor.

Video footage of the apartment fire

Without hesitation, Cissé raced to a neighboring apartment and climbed onto a narrow exterior railing that connected the buildings—perched over 65 feet above the ground. From this precarious position, he coordinated the rescue with the mothers trapped inside, encouraging them to hand over their children one by one as thick smoke poured from the windows.

Viral footage of the incident, shared widely on social media, shows Cissé balancing on the narrow ledge as he calmly receives two infants and then assists the remaining children and their mothers to safety. All seven individuals were safely removed from the burning building.

A Paris hero was celebrated with a medal and praised by French President Emmanuel Macron

after saving four children from an apartment fire

"I didn’t think twice. There were lives at stake. I didn’t calculate the risk," Cissé said. He later received a phone call from President Macron, who personally thanked him for his heroism. “We must have spoken for a minute or two. I had goosebumps,” Cissé said of the exchange.

One of the rescued mothers recalled fearing for her life and her children’s lives, saying she believed they would die in the fire before Cissé arrived. “He saved us,” she said.

Cissé was personally thanked by Macron and other officials have suggested honoring him with the Medal of the City of Paris

Twelve other residents were hospitalized for smoke inhalation as firefighters battled the flames.

Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez announced that Cissé will be awarded a medal for “republican courage,” praising his "extraordinary selflessness and bravery." French Socialist politician Emmanuel Grégoire has also advocated for Cissé to receive the Medal of the City of Paris—the city’s highest civilian honor, previously awarded to cultural icons such as Michael Jackson and Toni Morrison.

One of the rescued mothers said she saw herself “dying with [her] children” before Cissé saved them