Residents of Marina Bay Suites were left shaken after Monday night's fire at their condominium which left two security officers dead.

One of the residents, 40-year-old Indonesian tourist Mrs Akmam, said: "The alarm started sounding at about 9.40pm. I panicked and ran out in just my pyjamas."

The fire broke out on the 65th floor and some residents were evacuated from the building, she said. As the lifts were not working, she had to take the stairs down from her unit on the 53rd floor. "I bought an apartment in Singapore because it's very safe and clean here. But now I want to sell my unit," she said.

Another resident, who only wanted to be known as James, is upset with the building's management. "I'm frustrated because when the alarms rang I came down to check, but we were told by the building manager to go back up," said Mr James, who lives on the 38th floor. "How could we have been told to stay when something like that had happened?"

The main entrance to the 221-unit condominium at Raffles Quay was cordoned off, with police officers standing guard till about 2.30pm on Tuesday. A resident carrying her baby was spotted returning to the building in just a bathrobe and bath slippers.

Firefighters and paramedics have been moving in and out since Monday night with tools such as stretchers, spades, towels, flashlights and wooden planks.