Fire (illustrative)
Fire (illustrative)Credit: Istock

Alexander Omelchenko, 44, was walking down the street in Ashdod on Wednesday night when he spotted fire and smoke pouring out of a window of a fourth-floor apartment.

When Omelchenko heard that two small children were caught inside the apartment, he didn't hesitate and managed to climb up the outer wall of the building to the fourth-floor window and enter the smoke-filled apartment, where a 4-year-old girl and 7-year-old were screaming for help.

Meanwhile, two firefighters broke down the front door of the apartment and Omelchenko managed to rescue the girl. A neighbor rescued the seven-year-old boy.

Omelchenko suffered from serious smoke inhalation while saving the girl and was subsequently evacuated to Assuta Hospital, where he is in serious condition in the ICU, unconscious and on a respirator.

"We didn't manage to see him yet," his daughter told Ynet. "We understand that his condition is severe and there has been no improvement yet. He risked his life to save others."