A large fire broke out at a residential building in Al Barsha, Dubai, on Friday.
Several residents reported seeing smoke near Barsha 1, just off the D63.
Dubai Civil Defence on Twitter said its crews brought the blaze under control “within 14 minutes”.
They were alerted to the fire at 1.24pm and arrived at the scene four minutes later.
A picture released by the civil defence showed a crane being used to assist firefighters in extinguishing the flames.
An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.
Residents of the tower and nearby buildings were evacuated as firefighters contained the blaze.
A Dubai Police helicopter circled above the area as a swift emergency response was put into action.
Streets surrounding the building were cordoned off as the cooling down of the building continued.
Located four floors from the top, the residents seemed calm and their apartment appeared to be free from smoke damage, despite nearby apartments showing evidence of a fire.
A father-of-three who was standing on a street nearby with suitcases said his family was evacuated from the Abidos Hotel Apartments, located close to the burning building, as a safety precaution.
“We could smell the smoke so I went down to reception to ask what had happened and the staff advised us to to grab our belongings and leave,” he said.
“The building I am staying in with my family was not the building that was on fire but they evacuated us as a precaution.
A second passerby said he walked closer to the building as he could see smoke billowing in the distance.
NU
