A police officer in Agrigento, Salvino Cosenza, saved four young children aged between two and 13 years old on Tuesday (October 31) from a fire that had broken out in their home.

The family of migrants lived in via Damareta, in the historic center of Agrigento. The fire started where garbage was piled up next to the building where the four siblings lived with their parents.

The children were alone because the mother was at the hospital with the children's father, who had a fractured leg.

Cosenza, who was off-duty and on holiday, had been talking on the phone when he smelled something burning: he looked over the balcony and he saw a thick column of smoke coming out of a nearby building.

"I noticed that someone, with a basin, was throwing water on the flames. I could not tell who it was: adult or child," he said.

"Then, once I arrived at the home, I realized it was the eldest girl who was trying to protect her three younger brothers."

The police officer rushed to their rescue, after warning a Senegalese family who lived on the first floor to evacuate the building immediately.

The mother was able to hug her children, everyone is safe

"When entering the home filled with smoke I saw that the place was flooded, because the young girl, with a basin in her hands, was going back and forth between the tub and the window," said Cosenza.

After he had brought the four young children, as well as their pet dog, to safety, he called their mother: "I told her that her children were in my custody and that I would only give them back to her.

"(When the mother arrived, she) was accompanied by a social worker and she was able to hug her children."

Firefighters worked for several hours before they were able to control the blaze; an inquiry is underway to identify the cause of the fire.

Superintendent Cosenza was greeted with a round of applause for "always being there" by the Commissioner of Agrigento, Emanuele Ricifari, who said: "Acts like this reflect our primary function, which is ...to safeguard the population. Sometimes this requires spontaneous acts, but a police officer must always remain clear-headed."