Her house was on fire, but a girl in China's Jiangsu province was busy taking a video of the flames instead, which led to the building being razed.

The incident occurred in Jiangsu's Nanjing city on Wednesday (Jan 11), Chinese newspaper Yangtse Evening Post reported on Friday (Jan 13).

A neighbour who gave her name as Madam Li told Yangtse Evening Post that she noticed a burnt smell and went to check it out.

She saw dense smoke from her neighbour's home and thought of going in to see if there was anyone inside, but stopped after seeing the thick clouds of smoke.

The home owner arrived shortly after, she said.

His daughter told police that she had been at home when the fire broke out.

She saw flames behind the sofa and decided to take a video with her smartphone, as she was afraid she could not explain how the fire started if she did not.

After taking the video, the flames had grown, and she could only run out of the house, she said.

Yangtse Evening Post understands that the house was about 40 years old.

Several devices were plugged into the electric socket behind the sofa at the time of the fire, including a computer and other electronic devices.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.