A Daring Rescue

It was a seven-story building that had caught fire. The lower floors were used for offices and shops. On the three upper floors, people were living with their families. There were several families living in the flats.

The fire started in a paint go down on the first floor. How it all started nobody knew. The fire was noticed only when it began to rage. It was an ungodly hour when the fire broke out. The fire was noticed first by a night watchman who raised an alarm. He phoned up promptly for the fire service and police. It was sometime before the fire engines came to the scene. By then the fire had spread to the other floors. Between fire and smoke, there were cries of anguish and despair. People were at first rescued with the help of ladders and lifts. In the confusion that prevailed nobody knew who was rescued. In such circumstances, people tend to be very selfish.

The firefighters thought they had rescued all. Then suddenly a lady remembered that her child who was sleeping in the cradle had not been rescued. One can understand her anguish and pain. She began beating her breast and wailing, thinking that her baby would have perished by then in the fire. One of the firemen did not lose hope. He told the lady assuredly that if the child was still alive he would go and surely save it.

He drenched himself with water, got up the ladder in spite of the warning given by his colleagues. Walls were crumbling down and beams were falling and tongues of fire were still to be seen. Worst of all there was a thick pall of smoke. The man managed to get a foothold on a window. He got into the room and with great difficulty, he was able to locate the cradle. It was a miracle that the fire had not done much damage to the side where the cradle was located. He took the screaming child rolled it in a wet blanket which he had brought. He quickly strode to the window and called his colleagues who were waiting anxiously below with a foam mat. He threw the valuable bundle down. His colleagues caught it with dexterity and the child was moved to a place of safety. No words can explain the joy of the mother.

In the meantime, the fireman slipped down the ladder. In spite of the precautions he had taken, there were burns on his body. He was promptly taken to the hospital and given proper treatment. In appreciation of his service, the highest civil authority rewarded a sum of money to him. That was the proudest moment in the life of the fireman. Everybody was saying that he would get the President’s Medal for his courageous act.