Serhii Bilous has saved many lives.

He’s been doing so for 10 years, now working with the State Emergency Services of Ukraine (SESU) in Kharkiv.

“Being a rescuer is a calling from the heart,” he tells us, sitting in front of one of the red trucks used by SESU first responders to reach people in the immediate aftermath of a strike.

He recalls one rescue, last year, when a 12-story residential building was struck. The upper floors were destroyed and engulfed in fire. 

From below, rescuers could see a woman trapped by flames on the 12th floor, the stairwells destroyed. A group of rescuers had to use climbing equipment to get onto the roof, secure ropes, then descend down to reach her.

It was Serhii who reached the woman, securing her in a special sling so that they could continue their descent together.

“The fire became more intense, and very hot flames began to pour out of the balcony, burning the woman… and me as well,” he says. “I was most afraid that the ropes would melt.”

He shouted to his colleagues on ladders and the lower floors to hose them down as they descended, so that the ropes would cool. 

Making their way to a floor where the stairway was clear, they were able to exit the building, where the woman was examined by waiting ambulance crews and hospitalised.