A firefighter from the northeastern city of Mashhad received the presidential medal for ‘Valor and Sacrifice’ for his heroic act in rescuing a teenage boy from a raging house fire. Saeed Virani, the young firefighter, risked his life to save the boy from a three-story fire.
Virani described the horrors of the incident in an interview with Shargh newspaper saying that ‘’the boy was the only one missing in the midst of the fire’’ but then he found him on the staircase, caught in the blaze. ‘’I carried the boy to the rooftop, which I thought was the safest location, but then on my way back I was trapped in the flames, my helmet and apparel melted away and I received some severe burns,’’ he said.
He finally made it out when the flames subsided and was taken to the hospital in a resident’s car before the ambulance arrived. ‘’I received medical care upon arrival but then lost consciousness; my burns were deep and the first thing I remember afterwards is that I was in the ICU,’’ he said.
Hospital Care
He spent more than a month at the hospital, unable to move for two weeks. After receiving physical therapy he felt better, but plastic surgery remains to be done.
Much of the medical bills have been covered by the fire department and other institutes, and other organizations have pledged to help him with plastic surgery costs.
Virani says he has done the right thing to risk his life in the line of duty. ‘’Our colleagues and I are prepared for such dangers every day. Every morning, we recite an oath to sacrifice our lives if necessary. I’m not the only one; many of my colleagues have fallen from great heights or got burned while carrying out their duty,’’ he said.
The fire fighter admits that initially, he chose firefighting out of the need for employment, but now he ‘’loves his job and wouldn’t change it with any other in the world.’’
