SEREMBAN: Thirty-seven female students at a religious school in Rembau near here escaped a fire at their hostel early Thursday.

However, no casualties were reported at the Maahad Tahfiz Yayasan Sofa in the small town of Chengkau, located some 25km from here.

A Fire and Rescue Department official said his team received an emergency call just before 2am and they arrived at the scene in 15 minutes.

He said firemen managed to put out the blaze but the hostel was 60% damaged.

"The students did not suffer any injuries but three of them had breathing difficulties," he said.

The cause of the incident is being investigated.