Gas station attendant lauded for bravery after extinguishing fire in 12 seconds
A woman named Song Juanjuan 宋娟娟 probably thought she was just doing her job, putting out a fire at the gas station she worked at in eastern China’s Jiangxi Province.
But surveillance footage of the incident, dated July 9 but only recently posted online, received an astounding 3 million likes on the streaming platform Douyin, making her a viral sensation. And why not? The video shows a tricycle, for reasons unknown, spontaneously bursting into flames, and then everyone fleeing the scene. Gas stations and fires are a combustible mix, after all.
But Song stays behind to put out the problem — in an impressive 12 seconds, at that.
Reactions on Chinese video-streaming sites are full of admiration, with comments such as, “Such an amazing employee, she needs to get a raise, Otherwise, what a huge loss!”
“[This lady] was calm and responded quickly. Thumbs up,” said another.
Song’s colleague, a woman named Liu Zhuqin 刘祝琴, rushes out from the convenience store to lend a hand. She was likewise praised by online users.
People have gone as far as to say that the women should receive monetary compensation. That’s been known to happen: Last year, employees of a Sichuan Province gas station were awarded 65,000 yuan ($9,700) each for putting out a fire (though, admittedly, they were in more imminent danger).
In another instance, seven staff members of a gas station in Hunan Province received a handsome reward of 800,000 yuan ($120,000) for saving a gas station after a car crashed into it.
