Story By: Scott Feng, Sub-Editor: Jamie King, Agency: AsiaWire

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment a bored six-year-old sets a stack of papers on fire and nearly burns down an electronics market where his mum works.

Members of the fire service in Nanjing, capital of East China’s Jiangsu Province, inspected CCTV cameras after putting out the blaze and discovered the young child’s involvement.

The security camera images show the six-year-old, whose mum was busy working nearby, appearing to find a stack of paper lying around.

He proceeds to carry it into a narrow corridor where a number of boxes are stored before setting the flammable material on fire using a lighter.

He watches the flames grow larger and larger until a burst of sparks scares him away.

In the video, the fire can be seen engulfing the boxes and threatening to burn the building down when staff at the Yueshikong electronics market rush over with fire extinguishers.

A vendor named Xu Yang said: “I smelt something burning and then saw the fire. The flames were huge. I called others over and together we put out the fire.”

Xu said the boxes the boy burnt contained packages waiting to be couriered to customers.

After CCTV cameras showed the boy’s involvement, authorities tracked down the child’s mother, surnamed Tang, who also works in the market.

She said: “He said he thought it would be fun. He didn’t understand how dangerous it was.”

It is still unclear where the six-year-old found the lighter.

The case is still being investigated.

Picture Credit: AsiaWire