Editor's note: Yao Weijun, a 23-year-old fireman, lost his life while trying to save a 95-year-old woman from a fire in a house in Ningde, East China's Fujian province last week. His death has triggered a heated debate recently on whether a young man should risk his life to save a nonagenarian. Following are the views of two journalists and a scholar on the incident:

Every human life is worth saving

It's a big tragedy that both the young firefighter and the nonagenarian lost their lives in the fire. Since the 23-year-old firefighter could have had a brighter future, many believe his ultimate sacrifice was in vain as the 95-year-old also died in the fire.