Woman digs out her savior 27 years later
Print Edition
A WOMAN has been reunited with the firefighter who saved her life 27 years ago.
Michelle Sun was only 3 months old when a fire broke out in a three-story residential building on Henan Road M. in Huangpu District in November 1988. The blaze had trapped about 15 people on the attic, including Sun and her family. There was one casualty.
During the rescue, both the fire-fighter and the baby were injured.
Decades later, Sun, along with her mother, decided to make the effort to dig out the firefighters — only so that she could thank them.
“I’ve been grateful to firefighters for a long time because of my own experience,” Sun told Shanghai Daily after meeting the man who saved her life 27 years ago over the weekend.
The idea to go back to the past originated after the news broke in August of the huge Tianjin blast that killed scores of firefighters.
Sun decided she had to find the fire-fighter who rescued her years ago and “thank him in person.”
Sun’s family had no lead other than the name of the fire station. As she had to go abroad, her mother took the initiative to approach the station with the plea to help them find the firefighter.
The station dug into their record books for documents relating to the incident. They contacted several firefighters, who were now retired, until they managed to locate the person they were looking for in October.
“I was surprised and moved when they told me that the baby girl I had saved wanted to meet and thank me,” said Lu Yuming, now 52, who was captain of Huangpu District Beijing Road Fire Brigade station.
After retiring from the fire department in 2001, Lu is now a police officer in Hongkou District.
“Different uniforms but the same mission — helping others,” Lu said with a laugh.
Lu told Shanghai Daily that he still remembered the fire as it spread very quickly because of the wooden staircase. Also, the number of people who were trapped by the blaze was also much higher than similar incidents around that time. “It was located in a narrow lane and the fire trucks could not enter. We had to put up ladders over the wall,” Lu said.
Lu said it was an old building which was covered with aging electric wires. They were wet and as he rescued the child he was struck by an electric shock and hit the ground with the baby in his left hand. Both Lu and Sun suffered fractures.
Asked how he had managed to protect the girl during the fall, Lu said: “It was probably because of the training we received. I think protecting others comes in an instinct under any conditions.”
Sun was filled with emotion when she finally came face-to-face with Lu.
“I had an impression that all fire-fighters are very young. I imagined it would be the same with the firefighter who saved me. After 27 years, I had grown up and Lu was old and retired, but the gratitude I feel for him will never fade,” she said.
Sun said she learnt during their meeting that the fire equipment in use now was much more advanced than it was 27 years ago. “Firefighting is a noble but a dangerous job. I hope there will be more policies to ensure they don’t have to worry about anything,” she said.
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