After noticing dark smoke from the roof, Zheng Xuyi and his fellow volunteers called the community security and rushed upstairs.
Their alert helped avert more danger at a time when many residents have to stay at home in a city on lockdown. They were aiding Huajin community by sending daily necessities.
In a community with more than 4,700 households, Zheng said the service staff are far from enough, especially when there are so many single elderly people in need.
"They're under great stress without enough rest," he worried. "So, many of us decided to join them."
And every two days, the community organizes volunteers to take free vegetables to residents in need. Sometimes, they provide those elderly people with free supplies.
A volunteer helps send daily necessities. /CGTN Photo
Amid the lockdown, supplies from across the country made their way to the epicenter of the outbreak, but some were stranded in bordering areas. Zheng once took his own car, bringing back vegetables, disinfectant and disinfection powder to the community.
And he is not alone now, as more Wuhan residents get on board.
Reports say some 7,000 people in Wuhan registered as community volunteers in one day alone.
Zhou Lin, director of Huajin Community Service, told CGTN that many residents have touched her a lot during this battle against the epidemic.
"They keep coming to ask me when they can help screen temperatures, deliver medicine and bulk-buy for the community," she said, adding support from them and the whole nation has boost confidence among their 16 team members.
A volunteer helps send daily necessities. /CGTN Photo
Volunteers would say they hope they can take supplies to all those in difficulty. Meanwhile, some residents don't want to bother the community staff, going out to fetch purchases themselves.
Sixty-eight-year-old Ding Jianfu, a resident in the community, places orders on his cell phone. He is also a winter swimmer. But the lockdown has affected his lungs.
After two operations for his lung cancer last year, Ding insisted that traditional Chinese medicine is required for the recuperation, adding pulse diagnosis in person is necessary for prescriptions, unlike Western medicine.
"Without that, I may relapse," Ding said. "I can't do anything about it, but I understand the situation."
Zheng hopes he and thousands of volunteers can personalize their service to help their city pull through.