Thanks to his experience fighting fires, Le Tien Dung was able to help other fire fighters survive fierce blazes in Hoang Lien National Park.
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| Le Tien Dung (Photo by Hong Ngan) |
Le Tien Dung has worked as a forest warden in Hoang Lien National Park for 3 years. During the recent fires, when the situation became dangerous, he remained calm and asked people to lie down and allow the flames to pass over their bodies. He saved their lives.
He told DTiNews how he and 15 local people managed to survive after being hit by a fierce blaze. At 3PM on February 12, they were cutting down forest to create a fire-line, hoping to prevent the fire from spreading. Suddenly, a huge burst of wind brought the fire from the other side of the forest closer to them. He asked people to run upwards to on the mountain but the blazes threatened to burn everything in its way.
They kept running but it was useless as they encountered another fire just ahead of them. People lower down the mountain wanted desperately to help them but could do nothing because Dung and his people were surrounded by flames.
He asked people to wet their faces with water in order to create oxygen to make breathing easier for their easier breath. Everyone survived the fire.
Escaping from the fire and rushing down the mountain, people rushed to hug Dung, joyous that he was still alive. He couldn’t say anything at that moment because his throat was full of ashes.
Dung said that professional fire fighters admired local people here for their practical experience, enthusiasm and bravery.
