A street sweeper named Olimjon climbed up a drainpipe to the third floor and pulled the girls out of a house engulfed in flames in St. Petersburg. A native of Uzbekistan was one of the first to be at the scene of the fire, he told 360.ru about this.

“In the morning, at five o’clock, I went in to check and saw that smoke was coming from the third or fourth floors. The firefighters were called. Then the residents started screaming. It was impossible to enter through the door because of the strong smoke. I saw young women who wanted to jump, I told them not to do that,” the street sweeper says.

Then Olimjon climbed up the pipe to the victims and kept the residents from falling down. At that moment, firefighters pulled out a ladder. One of the girls climbed down it. The two remaining residents and the janitor were removed using a truck crane.

According to the man, his military background helped him show courage: he served in the Airborne Forces in Uzbekistan. Olimjon also practiced boxing. He has been living in Russia with his family for seven years. He has two adult daughters and already has grandchildren.

“People should help each other. It makes no difference to me what a person’s nationality is. In seven years, Russia has practically become my homeland,” the hero added.

The building manager said that Olimjon has been working as a street sweeper for more than six years. “He is a very good and humble person. He is responsive, always helps everyone,” she noted.