Winds fan flames as fire races up Dubai high-rise

Yamiche Alcindor | USA TODAY

A fire broke out Saturday in one of the world's tallest residential buildings, sending hundreds of people into the streets of Dubai as flames poured out of the luxury apartments.

No one was reported killed and the fire burned for three hours before being brought under control, according to several reports. However, flames engulfed several floors of the iconic Torch skyscraper and debris tumbled to the ground before sunrise. Images of the building in daylight showed smoke and fog still hanging in the air as workers in masks assessed the damage and cleaned up.

The fire broke out at about 2 a.m. in the 86-story Torch tower on the northeast end of the densely populated waterfront district, which is packed with skyscrapers. High winds whipped through the area, fanning the flames, and debris from the fire cluttered nearby streets.

Dubai's police chief, Maj. Gen. Khamis Mattar al-Muzeina, said in a statement that firefighters put out the blaze before it caused serious damage. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear but so far there are no indications of foul play, he said. The police chief added that a number of people who sustained minor injuries were treated by ambulance crews at the scene, he said.

Kathryn Dickie, who lives on the 13th floor of building, told ABC News that the fire alarms began going off about 2 a.m. local time Saturday.

"The guards were pretty frantic," Dickie told the network, adding residents believed the fire began near the 51st floor of the 1,100-foot-tall tower.

Raw: Massive fire at Dubai skyscraper Witnesses say a high-rise tower in Dubai's Marina district has caught fire, but there are no immediate details on casualties. (Feb. 20)

Resident R.J. Morlock, 33, of Houston, shot video on his phone that showed bright yellow flames reaching what appeared to be several stories on two separate parts of the building. He told the Associated Press that residents were nervous coming out but that fire crews were able to bring the situation under control.

"I was really surprised they got it under control pretty quickly," he said. "It looked like it was going to go up."

A resident of a nearby building told CNN he was watching a movie when he saw the fire. "We went to the balcony, then it was one side of the building (that) was burning," Jaime Mueller, 30, told CNN. "We went downstairs and a lot of people were watching. Then we saw another piece of fire fall, and it started the fire on the other side."

The Torch is managed by Kingfield Owner Association Management Services, which is arranging temporary shelter and supplies for affected residents. The Marina area, where the Torch is located, is home to dozens of towering apartment blocks and hotels, many of them built over the past decade.

As daylight broke, the extent of the blaze became clear: External cladding on the corner of more than two dozen stories from roughly the 50th floor to the top was mangled and charred black. Cleanup crews swept up pieces of shattered glass and other debris covering the street outside the building.

The tower has 86 floors and contains 676 apartments, according to the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which maintains a database of skyscrapers.

It ranks it as the world's fifth-highest residential building and is the ninth-tallest completed building overall in skyscraper-packed Dubai, which is home to the world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa.

Contributing: The Associated Press