According to local witnesses, the blaze sparked on the second floor of the house, which contained a shop selling plastic flowers and wedding accessories.

A 10-year old girl was in the house at the time but had a lucky escape from the fire. At 23:00, the inferno was brought under control but all of the property within the building was destroyed.

There are no reports of fatalities from the fire but the inferno caused a power outage on the busiest street in Thanh Hoa city, causing people to flee the area in panic.

According to local authorities, the cause of the fire was identified as a short circuit.

Major General Nguyen Hai Trung, director of Thanh Hoa Provincial Police Department, rushed to the scene to direct relevant forces in tackling the blaze.