Flames engulfed a residential tower near the corniche in Ajman late Monday evening.
Several blocks around the tower were cordoned off by police while Civil Defense teams from Ajman and Sharjah began battling the blaze around 9 p.m. They were still doing so at 11 p.m., according to The National .
The Ajman One development, where the fire broke out, was recently completed and cost 2.7 billions dirhams ($735 million).
The development consists of 12 towers. At least two towers were affected by the blaze, according to Arabian Business .
The general commander of the Ajman Police said that the cause of fire has yet to be determined.
Hundreds of residents from the affected towers and adjacent building were evacuated. However, only five are believed to have suffered minor injuries, according to The National.
"The buildings were evacuated very quickly,"Ahmed El Bagir, a man evacuated during the blaze told The National. "Some people were still in their underwear."
This is the second major fire to hit the UAE in three months, following the New Year's Eve fire of The Address hotel fire in Downtown Dubai.
Breaking out late in the evening of Dec. 31, the fire continued into the morning as the Civil Defense battled the flames. This also marks at least the fourth major fire in the UAE in the past three years, according Arabian Business.
Experts have suggested flammable cladding on the exteriors of these buildings may have allowed the fires to spread much more rapidly.
As a result of the The Address hotel fire, national attention was focused on the use of highly combustible plastic filled aluminum composite panels on the facades of buildings throughout the emirates. The Dubai Civil Defense has delayed the release of a new fire code as it revises and amends the current draft.