Childcare Teacher Byeon Ji-won Who Saw Taxi on Fire
Borrowed Fire Extinguisher to Put Out Fire... Prevented Major Accident
A daycare teacher prevented a major accident by using a fire extinguisher to initially suppress a fire that broke out in a taxi while driving on the road.
According to Yonhap News on the 5th, on the afternoon of the 31st of last month, a taxi driving on a road in Mangwoo-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul suddenly started emitting smoke. The taxi, which was on fire, drove about 50 meters further before stopping by the roadside.
At the time, Byeon Ji-won, a teacher who had just sent children home and was returning to the daycare by school bus, witnessed the scene. She stopped the school bus and grabbed a fire extinguisher inside the bus and immediately ran toward the taxi.
A daycare teacher is using a fire extinguisher to put out a fire that broke out in a taxi. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Byeon tried to extinguish the fire with the fire extinguisher, but the fire kept spreading. Especially since the taxi was an LPG vehicle, people nearby were evacuating, saying "It looks like it will explode."
However, Byeon shouted, "Can someone with a fire extinguisher please help? The taxi is on fire," and asked for help from nearby stores. Upon hearing this, local shopkeepers came out one by one and handed fire extinguishers to Byeon.
Byeon continued to extinguish the fire using several fire extinguishers while inhaling thick smoke. Meanwhile, firefighters who received the report arrived at the scene and completely put out the fire.
In particular, Byeon's busy efforts to extinguish the fire were captured on the school bus's black box, becoming a topic of interest. Byeon did not even take off the apron she wears while working at the daycare and ran around using the fire extinguisher to put out the fire.
In an interview with Yonhap News, Byeon said, "I learned how to use a fire extinguisher through daycare safety education, but this was the first time I actually used one. I think I used about seven fire extinguishers. It was not easy to put out the fire while inhaling the smoke directly." She added, "I have come to appreciate the hard work of the firefighters once again."
Meanwhile, the fire is presumed to have been caused by mechanical factors. Fortunately, thanks to the combined efforts of Byeon and the nearby shopkeepers, no major damage occurred.
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