A little before 1am on Feb. 14, a fire broke out in a house near Sioulin Elementary School in Hualien County’s Sioulin Township. A 60-year-old man surnamed Shih, who lived there alone, was trapped in the house. His neighbor Yang Ching-fa braved the thick smoke to rush into the house and pull Shih out. Shih suffered burns to his arms and legs along with smoke inhalation, with second-degree burns over 27 percent of his body, and was kept under observation after being sent to hospital for treatment. It is initially suspected that the fire was caused by careless handling of fire.
Yang said that he lives right next-door to the house where the fire broke out. When he smelled a burning smell, he went outside and saw thick smoke emanating from the house next door. It occurred to Yang that Shih lived alone and was motion impaired, but there was thick smoke at the scene and a lot of people were standing around watching but did not dare to go in and rescue him. Yang thought that if he did not act quickly but waited until the whole house was on fire, there would no longer be any chance, so he quickly rushed inside. Finding Shih close to the door, he hurriedly dragged him away. Yang suffered burns to his hands and inhaled a lot of smoke, but luckily he was not seriously hurt.
The Hualien County Fire Department said that when it received a report that a house near Sioulin Elementary School was on fire, with thick smoke and flames emanating from it, the fire department dispatched nearly 10 fire engines from five substations — Sinsiou, Beipu, Meilun, Tzuchiang and Hualien — to assist at the scene, and the fire was put out some time after 1am.(Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)
Photo: Wang Chin-yi, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者王錦義
花蓮縣秀林鄉秀林國小附近一處民宅，二月十四日凌晨近一點發生火警，六十歲石姓男子獨居屋內受困，鄰居楊慶發冒著濃煙衝進屋內把石男拉出。石男四肢遭火灼傷且有吸入性嗆傷，二級燒燙傷面積達百分之二十七，送醫治療後觀察中，初步懷疑是用火不慎引起火勢。
楊慶發說，他住在起火房子的正隔壁，聞到燒焦味出來，就看到隔壁房子竄出濃煙，他想到石男獨居又行動不便，但現場濃煙很大，很多人在外面圍觀不敢進去救人。他覺得再不快點，等全部燒起來就沒機會了，所以趕快衝進屋內，而石男剛好在門附近，就拖著他趕快離開，他自己手也被灼傷，且吸了很多濃煙，還好沒大礙。
花蓮縣消防局指出，獲報指秀林國小附近有民宅起火，現場有大量濃煙且竄出火舌。消防局派出新秀、北埔、美崙、自強、花蓮五個分隊近十輛消防車前往救援，約在凌晨一點多撲滅火勢。
(自由時報記者王錦義)
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