Loud bang alerted her

She was preparing to go to bed yesterday morning after working the night shift when she heard a loud bang.

"We smelled smoke and heard shouts of 'Fire! Fire!' from outside," said Ms Yang Li Xin, 29, who lives on the ninth storey of Block 367, Yishun Ring Road.

Ms Yang, who works at a casino, dashed downstairs with her husband and mother, where she found out that a fire had started in the five-room flat just above her unit.

At the carpark, she noticed about 40 to 50 residents already gathered there.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a call at 9.33am and sent two fire engines, a Red Rhino, two fire bikes, an ambulance and two support vehicles. The fire was put out with two water jets and no injuries were reported.

The owners of the flat declined to be interviewed.

SAW SMOKE

Another resident, Miss Arcelyn Siloy, 24, who also lives on the ninth storey, was cooking when the fire happened.

However, the domestic helper decided to leave the flat only when she saw smoke.

"I heard the painters at the opposite block shouting 'Fire!'. When I looked out of the kitchen window, there was smoke coming out of the burning flat, so I switched off the kitchen appliances and went down," she said.

SCDF said the cause of the fire is still being investigated.