Trang Thanh Nam was among the firefighters dispatched to a severe blaze in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday’s night, when it was only hours before his important national high-school examination.

The 21-year-old and 200 other firefighters had to work through the night to put out the raging inferno that engulfed a warehouse District 4, even though he was supposed to sit for the natural science test the following morning.

Vietnamese students began sitting for a three-day national examination, whose results are used for both high-school graduation and college entrance, on Wednesday.

Nam, a high school graduate who works at the Ho Chi Minh City fire department, attended the exam to use the result for his university admission.

Trang Thanh Nam prepares to fight the fire. Photo: Tuoi Tre

“I knew I had to get up early to arrive at the test-taking venue on time,” the young firefighter told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper at the scene of fire, when the blaze was controlled at first light on Friday.

“However, the fire looked disastrous and I believed I had to stay with my colleagues to prevent it from spreading further.”

His colleagues did ask Nam to get back to the fire dept headquarters to take some rest before the exam, where students would sit for the physics and chemistry tests, but the young firefighter insisted on continuing his duty.

“I could not stand seeing my teammates were sweating to fight the fire when I myself did nothing to help,” he explained.

“I had decided that I would only leave the scene when the fire was killed.

“I’d rather skip the exam than seeing the fire sweep through other houses in the area.”

The blaze was completely extinguished at 5:00 am on Friday. Only by that time did Nam agree to get back to his unit, changing clothes and heading for the exam venue.

He arrived on time and told Tuoi Tre later that “[I] did my tests quite well.”

Nam’s story has won the heart of many Tuoi Tre readers, who all wish he would have good results for the most important test of Vietnamese students.

Others suggest some university grant a scholarship to him or accept him without waiting for the exam results.

Below are some photos of the brave young firefighter.

A soaked Trang Thanh Nam tries to access the scene of fire. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Exhausted, Nam decides to take some rest. Photo: Tuoi Tre

It was 4:00 am but Nam did not seem to get back to his unit. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Nam (white helmet) tries to put out the fire with his teammates. Photo: Tuoi Tre

He looked apparently exhausted when the clock stroke 5:00 am. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Still, Nam managed to be at the test venue on time. Photo: Tuoi Tre

He smiled before entering the classroom. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Leaving the test-taking venue, Nam said he did “quite well” with the tests. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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