FIREFIGHTERS have brought under control a blaze that engulfed one of the world’s tallest residential buildings in Dubai.

A fire broke out in the 86-storey Torch Tower in the United Arab Emirates holiday hotspot about 1am local time (7am AEST) and spread quickly.

Hundreds of residents were evacuated and shocked unlookers shared harrowing videos and images to social media.

Dozens of floors on one side of the structure were well alight, sending chunks of burning debris raining down on the streets below and sparking spot fires.

Officials were able to successfully empty the occupants of the building’s 676 apartments.

“No injuries have been reported so far in the Torch Tower fire incident,” the government of Dubai said in a Tweet.

Squads from four stations were deployed to bring the fire under control and three hours after the emergency situation was sparked, officials said it was under control.

“Cooling operations are underway,” Dubai’s media office said.

It marks the second fire at the skyscraper in the world-famous Marina district, with an eerily similar incident two years ago.

A fire swept through the same building in February 2015 and its flammable cladding was blamed for the rapid spread of the flames — a chilling similarity to the Grenfell fire tragedy in London.

A spate of similar fires in Dubai led to a new fire and safety code forcing builders “to ensure that the flammability of the cladding is as close to zero as possible”.

During this latest scare, Cara Spillane tweeted: “Terrifying to see Torch Tower, in the area I live in (Dubai Marina) on fire now. Hope everyone gets out OK.”

Claire Hopkin added: “One of the skyscrapers near me is on FIRE! God! Hope everyone can get out. Scary seeing it!”

A man at the scene, John O’Nolan said on Twitter that at least 15 floors appeared to be well alight.

However an Associated Press journalist near the scene said more than 40 storeys appeared to be engulfed.

Took this photo a few days ago - this is the tower which is on fire. It’s huge. pic.twitter.com/R5ZnPbZBg5 — John O'Nolan @ 🇦🇪 (@JohnONolan) 3 August 2017

Fire in Dubai marina getting bigger and spreading up building. Lot of debris. Can’t tell which tower it is. Not many sirens pic.twitter.com/zYiPQXJ1e4 — John O'Nolan @ 🇦🇪 (@JohnONolan) 3 August 2017

The cause of this fire is not yet known.

During the blaze in 2015, there were no fatalities and seven people were treated smoke inhalation.