The first person to share the inspiring story of a 13-year-old boy who saved 15 children during a fire at the Odessa camp “Victoria” was Alexander Ivanitsky, a deputy of the Odessa City Council. The young hero’s name is Maxim Tikhonchuk.
“He carried the children out of five rooms. That’s 15 children’s lives! And on Monday, he went to school with burned hands…” wrote Alexander Ivanitsky on Facebook.
Maxim Tikhonchuk’s teacher spoke highly of him, saying, “Despite what he has experienced, Maxim has been attending class for the second day. Maxim is very modest and doesn’t like to talk about himself. This boy is a true hero. When the fire broke out in the camp, Maxim was in another building. But when he saw the neighboring building on fire, he reacted instantly, running to rescue the children. According to Maxim, the fire spread rapidly. He broke windows and doors to save the children. He saved many lives, but unfortunately, he couldn’t reach the room where three girls lost their lives. It was impossible to do anything as the door had melted and couldn’t be opened again. Maxim feels deeply troubled by this. He even blames himself for the tragic loss of those children… I believe that not every adult could have done what this child did.”
The fire at the “Victoria” children’s health complex started late in the evening on September 15, 2017.
The building where the fire broke out was completely destroyed. Tragically, three children lost their lives, and two others were hospitalized.
Eyewitnesses reported that some children had to jump out of the building’s windows to escape the fire.