Asthmatic woman, 77, hailed a 'hero' after rushing to check on neighbour when fire broke out in their HDB flat

She had been lounging in her living room watching television when a pungent burnt smell filled the air. The elderly woman hobbled to her kitchen, only to be greeted with thick smoke billowing outside her window. From the unit across her window, she heard her neighbour yelling: "The unit below yours is on fire!"

The fire had broken out on Monday (Aug 3) in a four-room flat at 370 Bukit Batok Street 31. The inhabitants were a 70-year-old retiree and her two sons, aged 35 and 31.

Without a second thought, the 77-year-old woman headed down the stairs, not to escape, but to check on the family in the unit.

Despite having just been discharged from the hospital not too long ago after a bout of asthma, she was more worried that her neighbours may have been trapped in the fire.

"At that moment, I couldn't care that much. I just had to get downstairs," she told Lianhe Wanbao.

Due to her age, the elderly woman found it difficult to make her way downstairs and was sweating profusely by the time she reached her neighbour's door.

Fortunately, she found that the retiree and her younger son who was home had escaped by then, along with their six cats.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force and the police arrived on the scene shortly after. Reporters noted that the walls of the living room, kitchen and bedroom were blackened in the aftermath of the fire. The floor was also wet. 

In an interview with the Chinese evening daily, the retiree expressed gratitude towards the selfless spirit shown by her neighbour. Several other neighbours similarly commended the latter for her bravery, especially with her illness.

Hearing that she'd been hailed a "hero", the elderly woman modestly said: "I'm not a hero. As neighbours, we should look out for one another. It's what I had to do, I didn't think much about it."

Investigations for the source of the fire is currently underway.

rainercheung@asiaone.com