Fire engulfs Duabi's skyscraper near world's tallest building.

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**KaptinBadrukk**

At least 14 people have been injured and one killed in a fire that engulfed a 63-story skyscraper in downtown Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The blaze broke out in the luxury hotel hours before a large New Year fireworks display was set to start nearby from the Burj Khalifa tower, the world's largest building, witnesses said.

Witnesses said large tongues of flames shooting skywards enveloped The Address Hotel, which lies across a plaza from the Burj Khalifa, where hundreds were gathering to view the fireworks.

Houses and buildings in the vicinity have been evacuated, Al Arabiya TV reported.

The Dubai government's media office tweeted that 14 people have been injured and that civil defense teams were working to evacuate the 984-foot-tall hotel and tackle the fire. One person died after suffering a heart attack.

A medic on the scene who declined to be identified told Reuters: "There are more than 60 people injured with light injuries from smoke inhalation and from crowding while in the stairs evacuating the building."

One resident staying on the 15th floor of the tower, completed in 2008, told Britain's Sky News of "absolute pandemonium" as those inside realized the building was ablaze.

"The alarms went off when the building was already properly on fire," he said.

The government media office said the blaze started on the 20th floor, on the outside of the tower, and that internal firefighting systems were operating to try to prevent it getting inside the hotel. Four fire brigade teams were at the site.

Major General Rashed al-Matrushi, general director of the Dubai Civil Defense, told Al Arabiya TV that festivities would go ahead despite the fire, saying: “Of course, it will not affect the celebration.”

Dubai is one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, a Gulf Arab trade and investment hub.

Thoughts?

**djones520**

Thoughts? Hope no more people end up being hurt by this.

**KaptinBadrukk**

djones520 wrote:
Thoughts? Hope no more people end up being hurt by this.

My thougths exactly.

They think it was caused by fireworks.

**jhe90**

Fireworks, it could be they stored some there badly?

**KaptinBadrukk**

jhe90 wrote:
Fireworks, it could be they stored some there badly?

You could be right.

**djones520**

A picture I've seen has the entire length of the building engulfed in flames, but only a single side of it. I don't know a ton about how fires affect such structures, but that does look real interesting.

**Relapse**

I'm glad not many people were hurt in something that could have truly been devastating.

**KaptinBadrukk**

Relapse wrote:
I'm glad not many people were hurt in something that could have truly been devastating.

I agree this could have been very devastating.

**kronk**

News today was that there was a curtain fire that may have started it.

**KaptinBadrukk**

kronk wrote:
News today was that there was a curtain fire that may have started it.

MSN.com said this morning it'd been put out.