On the afternoon of the 14th of last month, a taxi suddenly caught fire in a parking lot next to Myeonmok Market in Jungnang-gu, Seoul.
Hwa-jung Kim, the owner of a nearby restaurant, saw black smoke and fire rising from the taxi engine room, and then started extinguishing the fire with a fire extinguisher in his restaurant.
Nearby vendors helped with the evolution by calling 911 and bringing other fire extinguishers, etc.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the fire department said that the Myeonmok Market was located right next to the taxi that caught fire, so it could have escalated into a big fire without the prompt action of the merchants.
The Seoul Jungnang Fire Department delivered a citation from the head of the fire department to Hwa-jung Kim, who took the risk and used a fire extinguisher in a timely manner to prevent damage.
Kim said, "There are factories nearby, so I just thought that it would be difficult to put out the fire once it spreads." "It's something anyone can do," he said.
(Report: Han So-hee, Composition: Min Kyung-ho, Editing: Cha Hee-joo)