Sixteen-year-old Rebin Khezri from Turku performed a heroic rescue during the night between Saturday and Sunday, saving two children from a burning row house in the Lauste district. The fire broke out around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, destroying a three-apartment building. Nearly 30 emergency units responded to the scene. All 12 people inside the building at the time were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported, according to the rescue department.
Khezri was driving through the city with friends looking for after-parties when they noticed a smoke cloud. Initially joking about it, they soon smelled burning material and realized the seriousness of the situation. They drove toward the smoke and saw the house engulfed in flames. Khezri spotted a child crying in an upstairs window. He and another man knocked on the door, which was opened by an adult male. Khezri rushed inside, retrieved the first child—who he said was about the same age as his younger brother—and brought them outside. Seeing a second child still in the same window, he ran back in and carried that child to safety as well.
Khezri’s walk became unsteady, and he collapsed to the ground, likely from smoke inhalation. His friends, bystanders, and ambulance staff provided immediate assistance, and he received first aid in the ambulance. Emergency personnel later told him his actions were heroic. His mother shared a heartfelt post in a Facebook group, thanking everyone who helped her son.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the rescue department and police, with overhaul operations continuing past 11 a.m. on Sunday.