HEROIC ACT SAVES PRECIOUS LIFE

[Anchor Lead]

A homeless person who caught fire on the street while trying to stay warm was rescued by the public. Thanks to their heroic act, a life was saved and the flames did not spread around.

[Pkg]

The body of a homeless man is engulfed in flames. He tries desperately to put the fire out, but to no avail. Right then, a car passes by.

[Soundbite] "What's that? Shouldn't we help?"

The driver and the passenger get off the car right away and begin to extinguish the fire with a blanket. Another passer-by joins in to help. The three even took off their coats to put out the flames, which had begun to spread. They did not leave the scene until firefighters arrived.

[Soundbite] BAE MIN-CHUL(GWANGJU NAMBU FIRE STATION) : "When we arrived, the flames had been almost extinguished. Thanks to the citizens' help, a life was saved."

The three heroes are 30-year-old Kim Bo-keon, his girlfriend, and a man presumed to be a migrant worker. They got blisters on their hands after extinguishing the fire with their bare hands.

[Soundbite] KIM BO-KEON, LEE SEON-AH(GWANGJU RESIDENTS) : "It was an emergency. We only thought about saving his life. When I saw the flames, I just wanted to put them out even with bare hands. We got off the car, and my boyfriend brought a blanket."

The homeless man said he made a fire because it was too cold to sleep on the street and the flame had caught on. The incident happened next to a car repair shop. Although its building was slightly charred, the shop owner does not want to hold the homeless man liable.

[Soundbite] YOON CHAN-SOO(CAR REPAIR SHOP OWNER) : "It's too cold and he's got nowhere to go. It happened next to my shop, but what matters now is his medical treatment. I hope he recovers soon and finds a nice place to stay."

Authorities are considering rewarding the three citizens for saving the life of the homeless person.