Eighteen year-old Xiao Xu was one of the first firefighters sent to tackle the blaze that ripped through a chemicals warehouse in the port of Tianjin last week. <br /><br /> The first responders were sent to investigate the area and reinforcements were on their way when the first blast hit.<br /><br /> “The whole sky was lit up. And, the blast wave sent me into the air. My helmet was gone. It was like a different world, with flames falling like raindrops on my head. The visibility was four to five meters.”<br /><br /> “Then, I looked for safer places to hide and searched for [my] colleagues. But, I couldn’t see any of them. The visibility was very low. I called their names, but no-one responded.” Xiao said one of his colleagues, who was 23-years-old died in the explosions.<br /><br /> “[He] had just celebrated his birthday before the mission. I feel very bad, as I will never be able to see him again,” he said.<br /><br /> “I then tried to escape with a squad leader and an officer. Our helmets were gone, it was chaotic there, and I cou
