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Home • News

'Black Spiderman' Who Saved Child Dangling From Balcony Starts His First Day At Paris Fire Brigade 

'Black Spiderman' Who Saved Child Dangling From Balcony Starts His First Day At Paris Fire Brigade
LIONEL BONAVENTURE/Getty Images
By Niki McGloster · Updated October 23, 2020
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Black Spiderman is officially on duty with the Paris Fire Brigade.

According to CNN, 22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama, who scaled a building to save a four-year-old dangling from a balcony back in May, started his first day with the Paris Fire Brigade on Sunday (July 1). He is one of 24 new recruits for the job.

24 nouveaux volontaires service civique dont Mamoudou Gassama ont rejoint cet après midi la brigade de sapeurs-pompiers de Paris. Félicitations à eux 👩‍🚒👏 Pour celles et ceux qui veulent nous rejoindre ➡️https://t.co/j8oOCktHbv pic.twitter.com/bcc6h448nP

— PompiersParis (@PompiersParis) June 28, 2018

Gassama’s rescue gained national attention and praise, including an invite to the Élysée Palace where he was offered French citizenship and received a certificate and gold medal for his act of courage from French President Emmanuel Macron.

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“I like children. I would have hated to see him getting hurt in front of me,” he told a CNN affiliate of the impromptu save. “I ran and I looked for solutions to save him and thank God I scaled the front of the building to the balcony.”

The Malian immigrant also received a humanitarian award at the 2018 BET Awards alongside fellow recipients James Shaw Jr., Anthony Borges, Justin Blackman, Naomi Wadler, and Shaun King.