Watch: Man rescues babies from burning Paris apartment
Footage shows Fousseynou Cissé, 39, standing on a ledge outside a window engulfed with black smoke, signalling to those trapped inside to pass their children over to him.
He first takes hold of a five-month old baby and passes the infant to a man in the the next apartment, before doing the same with a one-year-old.
Once they are out of danger, he helps an adolescent and adults out of the burning flat, guiding them to safety and ensuring that they do not fall to the ground.
Gasps of horror can be heard in the background, as well as one person crying out: 'Good God, what is happening?'
Mr Cissé, a school caretaker, rescued four children and two adults from the burning building in the north end of the city.
'I didn't think twice'
He told Le Parisien, a French newspaper: 'Given the amount of smoke, they and their children could have suffocated. Their last hope was to throw themselves out the window otherwise. I didn't ask myself the question. Their lives were in danger. I didn't think twice.'
Mr Cissé had just returned from work and was lying on the sofa when he smelled the smoke from the adjacent building. After telling his wife to evacuate with their two-year-old, he climbed onto the ledge to save his neighbours.
To anchor himself, he said he kept his legs astride between the two apartment blocks. He also credited his long arm span of more than four feet for helping him to pull off the rescue.
Naomi, one of the rescued mothers, said: 'I thought I was going to die with my children.'
Ten residents of the building were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation, local media reported.
Rémi Féraud, a senator, wrote: 'Impressive courage that saved lives. Fousseynou Cissé is a hero who deserves our admiration and the recognition of Paris.'
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