Yantai (China), Jul 6: A rich businessman and future inheritor to a big wealth died in a factory fire after trying to save his employees.
The fire broke out early Monday morning in a room on the third floor of a real estate company in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province.
Zhou Jiangjiang, the 28 year-old owner of the company, lived nearest to the stairs. He ran out of the smog-shrouded building first, but dared to go back to wake up his employees then sleeping on the floor.
The fire, caused by air-conditioner short circuit, quickly engulfed the whole third floor where 10 employees slept. He successfully went back at the first time to knock up eight of them despite the choking smog. When he knew there were still two left on the floor, he rushed back, ignoring his fiancee's concerns and dissuasion.
All the employees went through the accident unscathed, but Zhou collapsed on the stairs and never made out of the fire for inhaling too much smoke, according to local fire fighters.
"If Zhou Jiangjiang didn't shout and knock our doors, I'm sure that I would not be here to talk with you now. Because it would be impossible to run out of the room if I left three or four seconds later," said Chen Yubing, who escaped from the burning floor timely after being waken up by Zhou's knocking.
"I said to myself why so kind a man couldn't go out the fire after he saved me. I ran out, why he didn't," sobbed Qiu Caiping, another employee fled the fire thanks to Zhou's alarming.
Qiu said Zhou was an amicable employer who lived and ate together with his staff, and paid much attention to the difficulties of his employees.
Zhou's father Yang Guoxing, a real estate tycoon in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province, said his only son fulfilled his responsibility as the head of a company.
He still felt hard to accept the misfortune, as his son, also a member with the reserve troops, was just promoted to be awarded as lieutenant on Thursday.
Zhou's comrades-in-arms sent the new uniforms and certificate of appointment to Zhou's father after hearing the accident.
Zhou's deed triggered widespread discussion over the Internet microblogs. Netizens said Zhou was a special man among the "rich second generation" -- Chinese born into rich families after the 1980s, who tend to be eligible to inherit the money and assets from their parents.
China's "rich second generation" members are always criticized as being idle, arrogant and depraved.
Zhou's case showed that they are just as responsible, according to the microblog postings.
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