Gas station staff awarded US$120,540 for battling fire

Seven staff members of a gas station in central China were rewarded a total of 800,000 yuan (US$120,540) for dealing with a potentially deadly fire, People's Daily reported on Tuesday, citing an earlier report from China Central Television.

A red car suddenly crashed into a fuel pump at a gas station in Changsha, Hunan Province, around 11am on June 16, causing a fire.

The blaze became intense very quickly at the gas station which at the time had 31 vehicles, more than 100 people and nearly 40,000 litres of petrol and diesel, duty manager Zhang Cao said.

At the critical moment, staff members there reacted very quickly, shutting off the power, evacuating the people on site and putting out the fire in just 38 seconds.

The seven staffers who joined in the rescue effort, including Zhang, were rewarded 800,000 yuan by the Changsha government, the Work Safety Committee of Hunan Province and PetroChina's Hunan branch on June 26.

The gas station has returned to normal business, while the cause of the car losing control has yet to be ascertained.