Volunteer Firefighter Fu Chia-sen was killed during a search and rescue mission at a landfill construction site in Taichung City early on Sunday. Fu was pronounced dead after he was pulled out of the dirt at the site.
Taichung Deputy Mayor Hsiao Jia-chi said that although Fu was a volunteer, the city government would offer compensation available to the families of full-time firefighters because he sacrificed his life in an effort to rescue others. Fu joined the volunteer firefighting service more than 10 years ago and was cited last year as a role model. 2 other Firefighters were injured in the landslides at the construction site. The landslides left one dead, one missing and two firefighters injured.
The first landslide occurred at around 9am, burying a construction worker and the Taichung City Fire Department dispatched a rescue company. While Firefighters were busy searching for the buried worker, there was a second landslide that buried Fu. Fu’s colleagues then rushed to mount a new search mission. At around 1pm, they spotted part of Fu’s clothing and tried to pull him out. However, another landslide hit, causing two others to sink into the soft dirt. They were eventually pulled out and sent to a hospital for treatment.
