The Bukit Ho Swee fire was a conflagration that broke out in the squatter settlement of Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore on 25 May 1961. This fire resulted in 4 deaths and injured another 54. It also destroyed more than 2,800 houses around the Bukit Ho Swee area, leaving around 16,000 people homeless. The cause of this conflagration was never established. The Bukit Ho Swee fire was the biggest outbreak of fire in Singapore's history. The fire was a pivotal point in Singapore's contemporary history. The scale of the destruction sparked an emergency project to swiftly construct accommodation and resettle the people affected by the disaster. This first public housing project, led by the newly formed Housing and Development Board, would eventually lead the way to the development of public housing throughout the country in decades to come. Background After World War II, many low-income Chinese families were forced to move out of Singapore's city centre. Coupled with the rise in the number of Chinese immigrants escaping from strife such as the Malayan Emergency, this created a huge demand for wooden housing built illegally on the fringes of the city-centre by contractors who sought to profit from the situation. As such, during the 1950s, urban kampongs became commonplace on the Singaporean landscape. One such kampong is located in Bukit Ho Swee. This kampong, seen by the People's Action Party (PAP) as "an insanitary, congested and dangerous squatter area", saw its population increase drastically from 2,772 people in 1948 to 19,017 people in 1957. Meanwhile, the British colonial government in Singapore, through the Singapore Improvement Trust, embarked on the biggest public housing development project in the British empire to support Singapore's industrialization process. However, urban kampongs had to be cleared to free up land for the construction of public housing units. Yet, the high rents, small size and acute shortage of Singapore Improvement Trust flats meant that they were not popular with residents of urban kampongs. Many residents chose to remain in urban kampongs, which made kampong relocations politically difficult. Relocations often had to be done under police escort; the city ultimately had to retract its demolition policy in 1955 and designated some kampongs as "attap" areas. However, relocations still took place outside of these designated areas. This public housing development project was later adopted by the Housing Development Board when the PAP took over the city government from the British. Fire