“If they had just slowed down, they would not have come out”: the young hero told about the fatal fire

That evening, a garage caught fire at Yaroslav’s house, and fire and smoke went into the house. And while the adults were still just figuring out what was happening, Yaroslav was already acting: he woke his father, and he rushed to the second floor - where the younger brothers were in the smoke. He wasn't scared. I'm not confused. I didn’t wait for someone to come and decide for him. He simply led the brothers through the emergency exit - and, as it turned out later, did so a minute before the fire would cut off the last path to salvation. Not every adult in this situation finds the strength to act, and this guy found.

We asked Yaroslav to restore the chronology of that evening.

- I was sitting at the computer, wearing headphones. And then I heard a loud bang. Turned around - and we have the main entrance to the garage, and from there poured smoke into the house. I knew right away that it wasn't just that. Then I found out there were gas cylinders in the garage.

Then he acted quickly - and, as he admits, almost without thinking.

- I ran straight to my dad. He was already going to bed, wearing headphones, watching something on his laptop. I told him that smoke was pouring into the house, and pointed to the emergency exit, and there was already a fire from the garage, it was clear that the entire garage was on fire. Dad ran to the street to open the gate and call the Emergencies Ministry. And I remembered the brothers were on the second floor, and I ran after them. It was already in smoke. I ran upstairs, screamed, grabbed them and led them outside.

The most important thing is choosing the path. The main exit was already cut off by fire, and Yaroslav led the brothers to where in ordinary life the family almost did not go.

- We've got an emergency exit -- it's on the side where Mom and Dad's room are. We rarely used it, mostly always went through the garage, it was like the main entrance. But from the main door there was such smoke that it was immediately clear – there you can not open, there everything is burning. There was only this side exit. And when we were running out with our brothers, the fire was coming from there too, the wind was strong towards the door. We jumped out, and about a minute later, that door caught fire. If we had slowed down a little, we wouldn’t have come out. And the brothers could hardly jump out of the window: we have a high ground floor, there is really high.

At the same time, he became afraid not at the moment when he needed to run, but later.

- It was terrible when I saw a huge flame from the garage gate and smoke on the second floor. I just grabbed the brothers and we ran down. I knew I was the senior, I was responsible for them. That's probably why I'm not confused.

The brothers had to be brought out literally in what they were, Yaroslav says.

- The brothers were on the second floor, in the back room with a balcony: one was watching TV, the other was playing phone. They heard me screaming and ran out into the hallway. I grabbed them, they dropped their phones and ran down with me. The middle brother Elisha grabbed his jacket and shoes, and Ilyusha ran out just in his panties and T-shirt, barefoot. It was cold then, minus. When we ran out, there was a neighbor, she took them immediately to her.

And how he knew how to act, explains simply.

- They told me at school. My dad always said that the most valuable thing is life. We are brothers and sisters and we need to take care of each other. So when it happened, I immediately thought about the brothers. That was the first thing that came to mind. It was just a minute.

When asked what was the hardest thing at the time, he says:

- It wasn't that hard. He ran, shouted to his brothers... Everything was fast, I didn’t have time to be scared. It was terrible when it was already burning.

Here’s what he said changed after the incident:

- I'm getting more serious about security, checking to see if everything's off. And I realized that even in a terrible situation you can gather, if you think not only about yourself. The reward is unexpected, but pleasant.

When asked if he is happy with the award and what this medal means to him, the guy calmly replies:

- Glad, of course. But I don't think I did anything special, I just brought my brothers out. The medal for me is a reminder that there are people around who value action. And also responsibility: I now realize that I am setting an example for others.

We asked Yaroslav what he would advise the guys if something similar happened to them.

- Don't be afraid to act. If you know what to do, do it. The main thing is not to hide and not to be silent. Call for help, take out the younger ones, don't waste time on things. And listen to the adults as they teach safety, it can save lives.

Let these words be heard not only by Yaroslav’s peers, but also by adults. Because behind them is not a beautiful phrase from an interview, and the evening, when the boy did not get lost, did not hide, did not wait. He took his brothers by the hand and brought them out of the fire.