Heroic firefighter in China dashes out of housing block with burning gas tank in hands

AsiaOne
Saturday, Feb 25, 2017

A firefighter was hailed a hero after footage of him running down a residential block with a burning gas tank in his hands surfaced online. 

The incident occurred in a housing block in Xiangyang, China's Hubei province.

Authorities believe the fire started while the home owner was cooking dinner.

When the rescue team arrived, they discovered that the valve of the gas tank was broken and could not be turned off.

Firefighter Wan Wentao said he tried to put out the fire three times with a wet cloth and a bed sheet, but to no avail.

"I was only worried that the gas tank might explode. So I just wanted to move it out of the way immediately," he added.

Once safely in an open area, firefighters extinguished the gas tank in about 10 minutes, CCTV reported.

Mr Wan said he was very nervous and the flaming tank scalded him, but he added that the residents' safety was of paramount importance.

His heroic deed certainly didn't go unnoticed.

One resident said: "I saw him running down with the burning gas tank. The flame was so strong. They risked their lives for us, it is amazing."

debwong@sph.com.sg