A unit in Coogee was destroyed by fire overnight. A woman was treated for smoke inhalation while neighbouring residents were evacuated safely.

A fire has gutted an apartment block in Sydney this morning and left a young woman in hospital.

The blaze engulfed the two-storey unit block, located at 115 Dolphin Street in Coogee in Sydney’s east, in the early hours of Monday morning.

Firefighters arrived at the site, which is believed to be a backpacker’s hostel, at around 5am after Fire and Rescue NSW received more than 20 calls for assistance.

Fire and Rescue NSW confirmed the building was “fully involved in fire” when Station 039 Randwick first arrived on the scene.

They were joined by two more crews, and together they “commenced fire attack and search and rescue operations”, taking around half an hour to bring the fire under control.

One woman, believed to be aged in her early 20s, managed to escape the fire and was taken to hospital where she was treated for minor burns.

A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman told news.com.au the first crew to arrive at the scene saw “large volumes of smoke and upgraded the alarm”.

“On arrival they found a large fire in a two-level residential unit block with fire on both levels, and they upgraded the alarm again,” the spokesman said.

“A total of nine trucks including one ladder truck attended, and the fire extended slightly into the roof space as well.

“One female was transported to hospital with a minor leg burn and she was in a ground floor unit.

“Crews have the fire completely contained and all people have been accounted for.”

The spokesman said the fire investigation unit was now en route to establish the cause and origin of the fire.

#BREAKING: An apartment block in the Coogee has been gutted by a massive fire. One woman has been sent to hospital after breathing in smoke. #9News pic.twitter.com/RaRqAyZLGx — Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) 18 August 2019

According to NSW Police, around 40 people were evacuated from their homes this morning, including residents of the burning building and people living in neighbouring properties.

The fire has been extinguished, but residents are unable to return to their homes due to suspected structural damage.

Alternative accommodation is being arranged.

Meanwhile, Coogee residents have taken to social media to describe the terrifying incident.

Posting on Twitter, Mitchell Lamm wrote: “Woke up to screams of ‘FIRE! FIRE!’ and people banging on doors to evacuate the building behind my apartment in Coogee. Our fire escape has been blocked off due to structure instability, so this is especially alarming …”