The rescue was interrupted by 13 air-raid alerts on Tuesday and Wednesday, as Russia sent jets into the air that threatened to fire missiles; the activity triggers alerts even if no missile were fired.
A firefighter, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Dmytro, said the repeated alerts had slowed the rescue effort, but that he and his colleagues had learned to work while frequently leaving the site for short periods in case of a repeat attack. “We do this often,” he said.
Nearby, teachers at a kindergarten were still directing toddlers into a basement bomb shelter when explosions rocked the building.
“They are trained, they know: an alarm, run to put on shoes,” said Valeria Nor, 32, a mother who raced to check on her 3-year-old daughter. “But they are small, and it takes time.”
Nobody was hurt, but Ms. Nor said that when she arrived, the kindergartners were crying and frightened. In the neighborhood outside, soldiers and cadets from the military academy had fanned out, some drenched in blood.
They bandaged one another’s wounds, and residents helped, she said. Some soldiers had blood coming out of their ears.
Ms. Nor’s husband, a doctor, ran to treat the wounded while she bought water and juice for the shocked cadets.
“At the beginning of this war, we thought we would take the children and run if there were just one bang nearby,” she said. “But we didn’t run. We came to the epicenter to help.”