SINGAPORE - Firefighters on Thursday (April 21) rescued 14 cats from a burning flat and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on them, saving all but one of the cats.

The incident happened at Block 422 Fajar Road, which is in the Bukit Panjang area.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), which was alerted to the fire at 8.30am, said firefighters had to force their way into the maisonette unit.

They used three compressed air foam backpacks to extinguish the fire, which involved some items in the flat's service yard.

The rescuers then found the cats, which were unconscious, on both floors of the unit.

As some of the firefighters were also trained as emergency medical technicians, they provided oxygen and conducted CPR on the cats.

The efforts paid off as 13 of the cats eventually regained consciousness.

The SCDF added that about 20 people were evacuated from surrounding units as a precautionary measure and that investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.

The Straits Times visited the unit on Friday and spoke to Madam Azizah and her husband, who said they are the owners of the flat and cats.

Madam Azizah, who declined to give her full name, said nobody was home in the second-storey unit when the fire broke out.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she expressed her gratitude to the firefighters for saving her cats, which she described as her family. 

“I’m really grateful for their compassion and quick thinking. They didn’t care that these were animals, they only thought about saving lives,” she said.

Madam Azizah added that her friends are helping to look after the 13 cats. She declined to say what was damaged in her home as a result of the fire.

A video posted on TikTok by user @itshambali shows SCDF firefighters at the staircase landing next to Madam Azizah’s corner unit providing the cats with medical attention.

Cats are not allowed in flats under HDB regulations, as they are deemed to be generally difficult to contain within the flat and when allowed to roam indiscriminately, may defecate or urinate in public areas.