Fireman saves six children, one killed in southeast Turkey

DİYARBAKIR – Anatolia News Agency

DHA Photo

Ferdin Aslan, a Diyarbakır firefighter, saved six children from a burning apartment building Jan. 29. Another fireman saved two other children, but a five-year-old boy died due to smoke poisoning in the İpek family home.

The incident took place before 2:37 a.m., when the Diyarbakır Fire Department reported that there was big fire in the Bağlar district of the city.

The head of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department, Hakkı Bilici, said that in only four minutes their crews reached to the scene of the fire.

Aslan crawled through smoke and fire to lead the children out from their bedroom after he heard them crying for help. The children couldn’t get out through the front door due to intense fire and smoke.

“When I entered the building I heard screams, cries and voices of children. I told myself to do what was necessary to save the children at all costs because of those voices, and I did,” said Aslan. “Both my hands were burned during the response to the fire.”

According to reports, when Aslan and two fellow firefighters went in the fire was burning over their heads. They went inside and quickly discovered the fire came from a gas leak behind the stove.

“The intense smoke and fire in the apartment did not stop me from saving those children. I had only that on my mind at that moment,” Aslan said.

The children were semi-conscious but were later cleared to leave the hospital. There had also been three adults in the apartment.