Caught on camera: Firefighter leaps out of burning building after clothes caught fire

A firefighter narrowly escapes death after his clothes caught fire when he was on the job trying to put out a fire at a burning building in the Hubei province in China. 

Video footage shows the firefighter first attempting to manipulate a line - thrown up by people below - to escape on. 

However, as the flames began to consume him, he had no choice but to forgo the line and escape by leaping out and partially sliding down on a pipe by the side of the building. It appeared as if he jumped from the second storey. 

Miraculously, the firefighter only suffered minor burns to his hands.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. 

prabukm@sph.com.sg