Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

These images show how an office was completely destroyed after a member of staff tried to disinfect it to protect it from the coronavirus using alcohol and accidentally set it on fire.

The person who was cleaning the office, identified only by the name Xiaosun, worked for an electrical firm in East China’s Jiangsu Province.

He told Fireman that he had sprayed a 75 percent alcohol mix around the office in order to comply with local health regulations about curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

But he said when he had completed the task and was getting ready to leave, a spark from the switch when he turned off the lights ignited the alcohol mixture.

He said before he had any chance to react, the whole office was suddenly engulfed in flames.

According to a video posted on Chinese video sharing platform Sina Weibo, the office which is around 25 square-foot was completely charred and ruined, with even the windows breaking from the heat and the remains of computers and other equipment lying charred and wrecked on the floor alongside burnt desks and chairs.

Xia managed to alarm his colleagues who are apparently nearby while the disinfection process was being carried out, and together they managed to extinguish the blaze using fire extinguishers and a fire hose.

Nobody was injured and it is not clear if the company had insurance.

Online commentators joked that at least the company had good reason now to get the staff to work from home, where they would be safe from virus.

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