A woman died yesterday after a fire broke out in an 11th-storey flat containing a "vast accumulation of combustible items".

A 20-year-old man, believed to be her son, was rescued after firefighters wearing breathing apparatus forced their way in.

They tried to revive the unconscious 48-year-old woman but she was later pronounced dead.

About 30 people were evacuated from Block 456 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that the "heaps of items" inside the three-room flat made it difficult for firefighters to move around.

Combustible items in flat

It said it was alerted to the blaze at about 6.10am yesterday. After conducting a forced entry, responders performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the woman - who was not breathing and had no pulse - in a bedroom.

The man was rescued from the kitchen toilet.

The pair, said by neighbours to be a mother and son, were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he was in a stable condition.

The police do not suspect foul play and investigations into the unnatural death are ongoing.

"The fire had engulfed the living room due to the vast accumulation of combustible items within it," the SCDF said in a Facebook post.

"The firefighters' movement within the unit was severely impeded as they had to carefully manoeuvre over heaps of items to conduct firefighting operations."

The blaze was extinguished with a water jet and a compressed air foam backpack, said the SCDF.

When The Straits Times visited at about 10am, the corridor had been cordoned off by the police. Neighbours said the mother and son had lived in the flat for more than 10 years.

Retiree Cheng Mok Yin, 60, who lives on the same floor, woke to the smell of smoke. He said: "When I opened my door, I saw the police and SCDF officers knocking loudly on the door and eventually breaking into the flat."

Mr Cheng said that he saw an SCDF officer give the man a piggyback out of the flat before the woman was removed on a stretcher about 10 minutes later.

Student Thong Jia Rui, 27, said he heard a commotion and smelled smoke at about 6.30am. He recalled: "I heard some people carrying some metallic thing... then the commotion got louder and louder. The next thing I knew, we were being told by SCDF to evacuate."

He added that he last saw the man outside the flat on Thursday with his electric bike.

Retiree Yip Soon Hao, 78, who lives on the same floor, said of the victims: "We don't know them well. They left the flat early in the morning and only returned in the evening. We don't meet often."

In the charred remains of the living room, ST saw a clutter of items. In one of the bedrooms, there were piles of plastic bags, cardboard boxes and recycling bags.

A spokesman for Ang Mo Kio Town Council said it had not received any feedback about hoarding issues involving the flat. "When the unit becomes accessible, we will assist to provide temporary electrical supply and offer help to remove debris within the unit, if needed."

Mr Clay Chua, 33, chairman of Teck Ghee Parkview Residents' Network, said: "We are now finding out more information before visiting the man and providing him with assistance."