A massive fire erupted at a department store in southern China, causing damage to four buildings.

Dramatic footage captured in the city of Jishou in Hunan Province on December 15 shows towering flames and thick smoke billowing into the sky.

According to a local merchant, the blaze primarily consumed shops and warehouses.

Upon investigation, it was revealed that the department store is a well-established wholesale market, dealing in a variety of retail and wholesale goods, including food and beverages, daily essentials, clothing, stationery, luggage, textiles, and electronics. The market also housed numerous parked vehicles.

By the morning of December 16th, Ms Cheng, a vendor at the market, revealed that the fire extensively affected the store, particularly sections dealing with highly flammable items such as shoes and clothing. Large portions of the building were reduced to skeletal structures due to the intense heat of the flames.

Ms Zuo, the head of the property management company for the store, stated that security personnel discovered a fire breaking out in a shop in Zone A. Despite their efforts to extinguish the flames, they were unsuccessful, prompting them to alert the authorities.

On December 17th, the Emergency Management Bureau of Xiangxi Prefecture in Hunan responded to the incident, announcing that the open flames of the fire at the private community department store wholesale market had been brought under control.

Currently, firefighting personnel are working tirelessly to extinguish any remaining embers. The incident resulted in the destruction of four buildings within the market.

Thankfully, there have been no reports of casualties so far. Authorities are actively investigating the cause of the fire and are in the process of assessing the financial losses incurred.

The video was provided by local media with permission.

12月15日晚9时许，湖南吉首一百货市场内发生火灾，晚火光冲天，烟雾升腾。市场内一名商家表示，过火的基本都是商铺和仓库，一共烧了五层。经了解，该市场是吉首市的老牌批发市场，经营各类物品的零售批发，涵盖食品饮料、日化、鞋服、文具、箱包、布艺、电器等品类，市场里还停放了不少车辆。
16日上午，该市场商户程女士（化姓）称，市场里鞋、衣服等易燃物较多，市场过火面积较大，楼体局部烧成了空架子。该市场物业管理公司负责人左女士表示，保安发现市场A区一店铺起火，尝试灭火未果后报了警。
12月17日，湖南湘西州应急局回应称，民营小区百货批发市场火灾明火已控制，目前消防人员正在扑救余火，事故已致市场4栋楼被烧受损，暂无人员伤亡报告，起火原因和财产损失正在调查统计中。15日21时，民营小区批发市场发生火灾，截至17日10时，消防已到场救援37小时。