HANGZHOU - A fireman died and two others were critically injured while fighting a blaze that engulfed a store in east China's Zhejiang Province Saturday, the local fire brigade said.

The wholesale store selling small commodities in Zhuji city caught fire at around 4 am, a spokesman with the city's fire brigade said.

He said the brigade sent nine fire engines and 45 firemen to the site.

Cans of chemical, presumably hair spray, exploded during the rescue operation and the shockwave knocked down three soldiers and destroyed their respirators, the spokesman said.

One of the soldiers, Tian Sijia, was declared dead at hospital and the other two, Tao Guojie and Yang Wandong, were in critical condition, he said.

The store was located on the first floor of a seven-story apartment building. More than 60 people were saved in time and no further casualties were reported, he said.

The flames engulfed more than 600 square meters of the building.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.