Child stuck on balcony net in İzmir rescued by successful fire department operation

Yesterday evening, in an 8-storey apartment building on Saltak Street, Sırakapılar Neighbourhood in İzmir, an accident occurred that frightened the residents. At the center of the event was a child, approximately 3 years old, living on the 3rd floor of the apartment. The little child climbed onto the balcony of the apartment to play and started to climb the wall. During this time, he got stuck in the safety net stretched in front of the balcony to prevent falls. The child remaining in this situation and being in danger caused great panic for the family and neighbors, and the situation needed to be resolved urgently.

The mother, hearing her child's screams and running to the balcony, made a great effort to keep her son from falling down. In a panic, never leaving her child, the mother tried to hold him in the air suspended by his feet, while at the same time struggling to open the door for outside help to arrive. The child hanging in the void for about 10 minutes and the mother's strength gradually fading prompted the citizens on the ground to take action. Citizens tried to take precautions by spreading a sheet on the street to prevent the child from being harmed in the event of a possible fall and notified the authorities of the situation.

The police and fire crews dispatched to the scene had a difficult time due to the street structure. The fact that the street in Sırakapılar Neighbourhood was quite narrow and the vehicles parked on the sides completely blocked the road made it impossible for the fire truck to approach the building. This obstacle made the rescue operation even more complex and urgent. Firefighters, realizing they could not provide direct access to the balcony with the vehicle, had to resort to alternative methods and managed the operation with great care.

During the rescue operation, the other residents of the building did not remain passive. A citizen living on the upper floors who saw the child hanging tried to reach the child by leaning down from his own balcony and holding and rescuing him. However, this attempt brought risks with it as it was an intervention without technical equipment. At the same time, the mother showed incredible resistance not to let go of the child despite the door being locked. In these minutes racing against time, everyone's sole goal was to ensure the safety of the small child, and an atmosphere of common sorrow and solidarity formed in the neighborhood.

As a result, although the fire crews could not enter the street with the vehicle, they succeeded in rescuing the child from the dangerous situation he was in with the ladders they extended and the technique they developed in a short time. The child, who was stuck in the balcony net and struggled to survive for about ten minutes, was rescued in good health by the intervention of the crews. While this event brought the importance of 'balcony nets' for families living in high-rise buildings back to the agenda, a tragic accident was prevented with this happy ending in İzmir.