(CNN) Snakebites kill more than 200 people a day around the world, but Thai firefighter Pinyo Pookpinyo was one of the lucky ones.

When the tip of his thumb was bitten by a king cobra, he made it to a Bangkok hospital within 15 minutes. There, he was given a serum that stopped the venom, which can be fatal, from attacking his nervous system.

"The doctor didn't believe at first that I was bitten by a king cobra. I had to tell him that I was an instructor teaching about snakes; I'm very good at identifying types.

"It affected me for about two months. I had to go back to the hospital to undergo surgery for another two times to remove dead tissues from my thumb."

Thai fire fighter Pinyo Pookpinyo was bitten by a king cobra.

But most victims of snakebites don't live so close to a hospital, nor do they have Pookpinyo's professional knowledge of snakes. For them, a misplaced step or being in the wrong place at the wrong time can be fatal.

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