Flames and thick plumes of black smoke were spotted high in the sky that originated from a building housing the store on Phung Hung Street at around 3.20pm, Hanoi city police said.
The fire started on the ground floor and spread elsewhere. The upper floors as well as the facade of the building were seriously damaged. City fire fighters were able to quickly bring the blaze under control and no-one was injured.
Occupants of an adjacent building attempted to douse the flames with fire extinguishers prior to the arrival of firefighters to no avail, reported the Zing Online Newspaper.
Fortunately, the nearby structures remained relatively unscathed and the occupants escaped injury.
A section of the street was closed temporarily while emergency police and fire service workers responded to the scene.
