Another residential building undergoing renovation caught fire yesterday in Shanghai, allegedly due to a worker's negligence.

A sixth-floor apartment on Gonghexin Road was damaged but no one was injured. The owner of the apartment was not home and the electricity and gas had been cut off.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Police has detained the worker.

Bamboo scaffolding surrounding No. 33 Building caught fire at 7:45am and spread into the apartment, witnesses said.

Police and fire brigade were called and residents evacuated the building. Some carried buckets of water with them, trying to put the fire out themselves.

Five fire engines soon arrived and the blaze was out in about 30 minutes. Furniture in the apartment was destroyed and there was serious smoke damage to the interior.

Residents said workers had set up scaffolding on several buildings to paint the walls and repair the roof.

"The whole building was filled with the smell of liquefied gas before the fire," said a resident surnamed Yang.

"When I saw the scaffolding and the flammable materials scattered around, I knew it was dangerous."