On inspection, she saw oily black smoke pouring out of a provision shop directly under her second-storey flat in Block 477, Tampines Street 43. The shop's shutters were partially rolled up.

The 60-year-old hurried home to call the police. She also alerted her neighbours as she and her husband ran down to try to douse the flames with pails of water.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived five minutes later at about 3.30am but the fire had already gutted the shop.

Fixtures in the premises next door were also damaged.

While nobody was hurt directly in the blaze, so much smoke was produced that an elderly woman living two floors above the shop had to be admitted to Changi General Hospital for smoke inhalation.

The fire destroyed almost everything, said Mr Koh Yeow Eia, 69, who runs the provision shop.

He said that he rushed down to the scene of the fire from his home in Changi when his friends, who manage shops nearby, called him at about 8am.

'We'll have to spend at least $70,000 to restore the place again,' he said sadly in Mandarin, as workers removed boxes of items charred beyond recognition from the shop.

Mr Koh, who leases the shop, said his insurance will cover only about $20,000 of the losses, but his landlord is also expected to chip in with some money.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.