Around 10 a.m. on March 11, 1853, Bolshoi Theatre employee Dmitry Timofeev noticed the smell of smoke coming from a closet under the stairs near the stage. Opening the door, he saw flames raging inside. Shouting 'fire, fire,' he rushed into the hall, but while the workers tried to figure out what to do, the flames grew stronger and engulfed the decorations. The tragedy could have been avoided if someone had pulled the lever that activated the iron curtain protecting the hall from fire. However, in the panic, this was forgotten, and the theatre staff, saving their lives, ran out into the street.

Meanwhile, firefighters from the Tverskaya area noticed the smoke and urgently headed to the scene. They tried to extinguish the fire, but the water stream from the hand hydrants was too weak. At that moment, the figure of theatre carpenter Dmitry Petrov was spotted on the roof. The flames were approaching, and it was clear that he would either burn or suffocate from the smoke. The firefighters extended a ladder, but it did not reach the roof. Attempts to throw a rope also failed.

At this moment, young roofer Vasily Marin offered his services. He knew that the rope needed to be handed up, not thrown. Listening to his advice, they found a long pole and tied a rope to it. Marin climbed the pole onto the ladder, jumped onto the cornice, and, climbing up the drainpipe, extended the pole to the carpenter. He did not remember how they descended, but on the ground, he saw burns on his hands and a charred shirt.

Interestingly, the rescuer was at the scene by chance. He was traveling from St. Petersburg to Yaroslavl, but due to a train delay, he decided to take a walk in Moscow and stumbled upon the fire. His brave act did not go unnoticed. Later, a play titled 'The Feat of Marin' was staged, and a year later, he was invited to meet Nicholas I, who awarded him the medal 'For Saving Those in Peril.'