Overview

• Fousseynou Cissé will be awarded a medal for courage and devotion after extracting two infants, two children and two adults from a burning Adoma social housing block in the 18th arrondissement.
• A widely shared video shows Cissé balancing on a zinc cornice while firefighters deployed four hoses to contain flames that began on the building’s second floor and spread to two other apartments and a terrace.
• Emergency teams treated at least 13 residents for smoke inhalation at Robert-Debré Hospital and 18 people have been temporarily rehoused following the fire at 49 rue de La Chapelle.
• Officials have launched an investigation into the fire’s origin as Paris fire services urge tenants of densely populated buildings to review safety measures during heat waves.
• Now working as a contract agent in Paris schools under a residence permit, Cissé hopes the official recognition will strengthen his employment prospects and highlight civilian solidarity.