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Uncle San is over 50 years old this year and has been living in a remote small village in the mountainous area of southern Henan. Although the third uncle has a low level of education, he is diligent, eager to learn, and good at researching. He is known by the village as a “jack of all trades”. Usually, the old and young men in the village enjoy listening to him tell stories. Uncle San’s son and nephew are both firefighters, and he particularly enjoys telling stories related to firefighting.
Recently, the situation of epidemic prevention and control in various parts of the country has been severe, and villages have also entered a comprehensive state of prevention and control. One day after dinner, Uncle San suddenly called and excitedly said, “Xiao Fei, guess where I went to give a safety class today?” Before I could even speak, he said the answer: “Find me in the town and explain the family fire prevention strategies during the epidemic to the safety officers in all villages. Everyone said I spoke very down-to-earth.” Uncle San’s tone was filled with pride. I have repeatedly praised and increasingly admired Uncle San’s accumulation and application of fire safety knowledge.
Putting down the phone and looking in the direction of my hometown, my thoughts returned to that summer night 30 years ago. I was only 9 years old at the time, and while I was sleeping soundly, I was awakened by the noisy sound outside. When I ran out and looked around, the whole village was as bright as daylight. It turned out that Mr. Zhao’s house in the village was on fire. At that time, my third uncle, who was in his twenties, and my father rushed to the scene of the fire with a bucket in hand, while my mother held my hand and followed me from a distance.
In the past, the houses in the village were all made of wooden structures. After Mr. Zhao’s house caught fire, due to delayed firefighting, the flames spread everywhere with the wind, and the father, third uncle, and other villagers who went to fight the fire were unable to approach. At this moment, someone in the crowd said, “Mr. Zhao, his wife, and son are still inside the house.” Everyone looked around and indeed did not see Mr. Zhao’s family.
Time is life. I saw the third uncle explain to his father, pour a bucket of water directly on his body, pick up a wooden board to cover his face, and rush into the raging fire. My father organized the villagers to use wooden pots, buckets, and other containers of water to extinguish fires and provide cover. Quickly, the third uncle ran out of the fire holding Mr. Zhao’s son. Later, he didn’t have time to rest and ran into the fire… When he rescued Mr. Zhao’s family, the third uncle’s body collapsed and he sat on the ground, with varying degrees of burns on his hands, legs, shoulders, and back.
That was the first time Uncle San had close contact with “fire”, and since then, Uncle San has been particularly sensitive to “fire”. It was also due to an accident that made Uncle San completely determined to become a fire volunteer and willingly run around for fire publicity work. For a few years, Uncle San often went on business trips to other places to learn advanced wealth creation experience. Once, the hotel where he stayed caught fire, and he almost died from not knowing the escape route. From then on, he personally realized the importance of fire safety, and the next day he went to the bookstore to buy a book called “Fire Safety Knowledge” and returned home to self-study.
In 1999, I wanted to join the military and sought advice from my third uncle. Without hesitation, he said, “Sign up for the fire brigade and become a firefighter.” 14 years later, my third uncle’s son, like me, became a firefighter. Afterwards, Uncle San became more concerned about firefighting. “Fire is such a terrifying thing. I have saved my life from the fire, which can be considered a big one. I want to do a good job in fire prevention publicity and keep the whole village away from the fire,” said Uncle San.
Do as you please. After becoming a “fire safety expert”, Uncle San discovered that there were many fire hazards in every household in the village, such as randomly pulling and connecting electrical wires, not extinguishing the stove in time after finishing meals, and littering cigarette butts after smoking… These phenomena made him feel like he was on pins and needles, constantly nagging in front of others. However, the villagers did not take it seriously. “We have always lived like this, do you think there are safety hazards when there are safety hazards?” “Life has been so long without any problems, and there will be no problems in the future.” Some even said that Uncle San is meddling in his own business. Faced with the villagers’ lack of understanding, Uncle San did not give up.
Not long after, Mr. Li in the village accidentally ignited firewood due to smoking, causing the kitchen to catch fire. Upon seeing this, Grandpa Li immediately panicked and ran out of the house shouting, “It’s on fire, it’s on fire.”. Fortunately, Uncle San led the villagers to arrive in time and quickly extinguished the fire, avoiding a major disaster. From then on, Uncle San’s prestige was only established throughout the village. Every time a general meeting of the villagers is held, the village chief invites Uncle San to give a lecture on fire safety knowledge on stage. Under the guidance of Uncle San, the whole village gradually became concerned about fire safety. When it comes to fire safety precautions that need to be taken care of at home, everyone can say a few words.
Because I have the same hobby with my uncle, I always go to his home for a few days when I return to my hometown. Sometimes we even lie in bed and talk late at night. The last time I went home, I told my third uncle about the latest fire protection policies and the gradual development of the “one team, one center” township fire protection force construction. After becoming the village chief, Uncle San solemnly said to me, “Fei, your words have given me a new goal. Before the township fire brigade is established, I plan to first establish our village’s fire brigade and build a fire safety defense line at my doorstep.” Looking at the clock, it pointed towards 3am, Feeling a bit sleepy, I silently cheered him on in my heart: “Uncle San, I hope your dream comes true and you can take the villagers to protect the safety of our home.”