Meet the Saigon man who is firefighter by night, test-taker by day
Trang Thanh Nam was among the firefighters dispatched to a severe blaze in Ho Chi Minh City on June 22 night, when it was only hours before his important national high-school examination.
 |
Vietnamese students began sitting for a three-day national examination, whose results are used for both high-school graduation and college entrance, on June 21.
Nam, a high school graduate who works at the Ho Chi Minh City fire department, attended the exam to use the result for his university admission.
“I knew I had to get up early to arrive at the test-taking venue on time,” the young firefighter told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper at the scene of fire, when the blaze was controlled at first light on Friday.
“However, the fire looked disastrous and I believed I had to stay with my colleagues to prevent it from spreading further.”
His colleagues did ask Nam to get back to the fire dept headquarters to take some rest before the exam, where students would sit for the physics and chemistry tests, but the young firefighter insisted on continuing his duty.
“I could not stand seeing my teammates were sweating to fight the fire when I myself did nothing to help,” he explained.
“I had decided that I would only leave the scene when the fire was killed.
“I’d rather skip the exam than seeing the fire sweep through other houses in the area.”
The blaze was completely extinguished at 5:00 am on June 23. Only by that time did Nam agree to get back to his unit, changing clothes and heading for the exam venue.
He arrived on time and told Tuoi Tre later that “[I] did my tests quite well.”
Nam’s story has won the heart of many Tuoi Tre readers, who all wish he would have good results for the most important test of Vietnamese students.
Others suggest some university grant a scholarship to him or accept him without waiting for the exam results.