A fire engulfs The Address Hotel in downtown Dubai in the United Arab Emirates December 31, 2015. REUTERS/AHMED JADALLAH At 9:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, a multi-story fire broke out at the Address hotel in Dubai close to the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper at 905 yards (828 meters).

Business Insider caught up with a resident of downtown Dubai who had an unobstructed view of the blaze from the 5th floor of his apartment just blocks away from the Address.

From his vantage point, he said, he could see a silent crowd of spectators gathered in the park outside of the Burj Khalifa.

Our source, who preferred not to be named, noted the crowd was a safe distance away from the raging fire.

"It looks like a fire that's going to bring a building down," our source said of the fire, which raged alongside dozens of floors of the Address.

However, the most recent reports as of 3 p.m. New York time indicated the inside of the buliding was not harmed and the fire was largely under control.

Despite the menacing appearance, from what our source tell, "there isn't much in the way of chaos."

Downtown Dubai was already closed to traffic from 3 p.m. local time Thursday in preparation for a fireworks show and celebration set to take place near the hotel. Our source reports there was a massive police presence all day and that the city was packed with foot traffic.

"Initially I saw flames on a few floors, but it very quickly spread," our source tells us. "It's a very windy day."

Another source who lives on the other side of the Address told us that there were no explosions. She learned of the fire when ash was drifting into her garden. She saw people rushing away from the scene and emergency vehicles descending on the scene.

The city decided to go on with the fireworks despite the fire.