‘Spider-Man’ Who Rescued Boy From Balcony Starts First Day With Paris Fire Brigade

PA

An incredible ‘Spider-Man’ who rescued a boy hanging from a balcony has started working with the Paris Fire Brigade. 

The unbelievable story of a man scaling a building to rescue a boy who was dangling from a balcony was not the latest Marvel movie, but rather the heroic act of a 22-year-old Malian migrant.

Mamoudou Gassama climbed four stories of a building, just like Spider-Man himself, and rescued the boy.

The amazing act, which happened in May, was caught on camera and went viral.

You can see the amazing footage here:

Following his bravery, the man was offered a position with the Paris Fire Brigade. Clearly fit for the job, he accepted, and joined the team, officially, at the end of last week.

The Paris Fire Brigade tweeted a picture of their newest recruits, with Gassama among them.

The tweet read:

24 new volunteers civic service including Mamoudou Gassama joined this afternoon the fire brigade of Paris. Congratulations to them.

Mamoudou Gassama rescued the four-year-old from the ledge of an apartment block in Paris’s multi-ethnic 18th arrondissement, where he worked his way up to the fourth floor in less than a minute.

He managed to grab the child and get him to safety before firefighters had even arrived, while a crowd below cheered him on.

The boy’s father had reportedly left his child in the apartment and was out playing Pokemon Go! when the event took place.

The father has been told to appear in court in December where he could face up to two years in prison for failing to care for a child under French Law.

Gassama later recalled the event to reporters, saying:

I saw all these people shouting and cars sounding their horns. I climbed up like that and, thank God, I saved the child.

I felt afraid when I saved the child … [when] we went into the living room, I started to shake, I could hardly stand up, I had to sit down.

Facebook/Habib Bibou

Following the event, Gassama was awarded a medal for his bravery. He spoke to the French President, Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace, explaining what was going through his mind as he was making the rescue.

He said:

I ran. I crossed the street to save him. When I started to climb, it gave me courage to keep climbing. Thank God I saved him.

President Macron praised Gassama, and said he would be made a naturalised citizen. The President also said the man would be given a role as a volunteer firefighter.

Google Maps

Gassama arrived in France after leaving Mali as a teenager, travelling to the country via Libya and Italy.

Keeping true to the President’s word, the hero was granted legal immigration status after rescuing the young boy, and his papers were fast-tracked to speed up the process.

After his incredible act of bravery there’s no doubt Mamoudou Gassama will be doing some amazing work in his new role as a firefighter.

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Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.