BALING, KEDAH (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Sixteen people including nine students escape a fire that engulfed the third storey of a religious school here early Sunday (Aug 6).

However, no casualties were reported in the family-run Tahfiz Al-Taqwa at Kampung Tengah, Jalan Telok Teduri.

A spokesman from the Fire and Rescue Department said in a statement that a distress call was received at 2.04am.

He said a team of firemen was despatched to the scene.

"Our men saw the upper level of the three-storey building, where the storeroom was located, engulfed in flames.

"We took about 20 minutes to put out the fire," he said, adding that firemen managed to control the blaze from spreading.

He said the 16 people comprising nine students and staff members as well as their families, who were staying on the second floor, escaped the blaze.

The cause of the incident is being investigated.