Heroics In Moscow

When fire broke out on the 25th floor of a Moscow apartment building Friday night, the city's only fire equipment capable of reaching that height came too late to save people, so heroics had to substitute for technology:

Before the ladder truck arrived, rescuers saved five people who had run out onto their balconies to escape the flames, the ministry said. Some were hauled by rope to the roof; others climbed down short wooden ladders that rescuers had tied between balconies on the 24th and 25th floors.

Rescuers also saved 10 people whom they reached through the regular staircase and one person who had gotten stuck in the elevator when the electricity went off, the ministry said.

Unfortunately, four people died in the fire, two of whom jumped to their death. (source)