This is the moment a dad nearly burned his house down when he set off a huge display firework facing the wrong way round.

The fountain bombshell was supposed to be set off horizontally to create a fan effect.

But because the family in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, were worried about hitting cars parked nearby, they set it off vertically, reports local media.

Instead of the stunning aerial Chinese New Year display they were expecting, they had to flee as their lobby was engulfed in a shower of smoke and sparks.

The impromptu indoor fireworks display was recorded on the family’s CCTV security system on 16th January.

As the first phase fizzles out, two children and their mum – named as Ms Wu in local media – wait eagerly for the next stage by their open front door.

But as a fan of fire spreads out towards them and a terrifying shower of sparks sends them running back into the house with their hands over their ears.

Ms Wu told local media her children had been frightened and covered their ears as they immediately backed away in fear.

Thankfully, nobody got hurt, but Ms Wu said everyone was very surprised.

Afterwards, she posted the video of the drama on Douyin, which is what TikTok is called in China.

Netizens were seemingly stunned by how quickly a fun time with family could have turned into disaster.

User ‘Right right right coyo’ shared a similar experience in a comment: “I bought this too. In the beginning, I thought to myself, ‘That’s it?’ followed by ‘Ah, ah, help!'”