Sharjah: A blaze gutted an apartment on the seventh floor of a 10-storey building in Sharjah late Tuesday night, forcing families into the street.
An estimated 80 Arab and Asian families were evacuated from the burning building, authorities said.
Eighteen people from different nationalities were administered first-aid on site for smoke inhalation, officials said.
A six-month-old baby girl was admitted to Al Qasimi Hospital and she will be discharged once her condition improves.
Smoke from the building in the Abu Shagara area of Sharjah could be seen billowing from a distance. The fire is believed to have started in apartment 708 on the seventh floor of Al Tamim building, Brigadier Abdullah Al Suwaidi, Director General of Sharjah Civil Defence, said.
Al Suwaidi said that firefighters were dispatched to the scene as soon as the blaze was reported to prevent widespread damage.
Firefighters from Samnan and the civil defence headquarters took part in the operations.
Evacuated tenants continued to wait outside the building as teams from the Civil Defence and Sharjah Police investigated the cause of the fire.
Al Suwaidi said that they ensured that areas of the building damaged by fire were cordoned off for further investigation and to prevent entry of unauthorised people.
The site was handed over to forensic laboratory officials to investigate the cause of the fire, he said.
