Photos reveal devastation of massive blaze
Photographs from the scene of a massive blaze that destroyed four homes in an inner-city Brisbane suburb show the extent of the devastation.
At least 35 firefighters worked to extinguish the Heaslop St home in Woolloongabba that broke out before 2.30am on Thursday and quickly spread to three other homes.
Neighbours woke to the sound of dogs barking and the thick smell of smoke before firefighters were forced to evacuate them from their homes.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Superintendent Tim Watkins said the heat from the blaze was enough to melt rubbish bins across the road.
Photos taken after the blaze was extinguished show a corrugated roof sagging into the crumbling structure and blackened timber.
A sign outside one of the homes warns emergency services that flammable gas was detected in the area and smoking, sparks and flames are prohibited until it is deemed safe.
Firefighters’ immediate concern upon arrival was to stop the fire from spreading further, an increased risk in the inner-city suburb where the majority of homes are timber Queenslander-style properties.
“The houses are very close together in these inner-city suburbs and they are made of wood, so they go up very quickly and intensely,” Superintendent Watkins told Today.
“It (the fire) was going to spread quickly.”
Four homes were destroyed during the blaze.
“Unfortunately, there were four houses lost, but without the efforts of the crews here this morning, it could have been far worse,” Superintendent Watkins said.
An emergency situation was declared by 3.15am, with residents of three adjoining streets – Merton Rd, Catherine St and Annerley Rd – all stuck inside the exclusion zone.
It was revoked shortly after 7.30am; however, Heaslop St remains closed.
“Around 2.30am, both of my dogs were barking their heads off, making a massive ruckus and so that woke me up and I was confused as to what was going on,” a neighbour old Today.
“And then my mother came and woke me up and said, ‘We have to get out of the house right now’.”
He described the fire as a “really large inferno”, adding that he “could feel the heat” and hear the powerlines “crackling” before they came down.
Ambulance crews were on standby to assist firefighters but no injuries were been reported.
It’s the second fire to break out in the suburb of Woolloongabba – the home of the Gabba cricket ground – in just 24 hours, with firefighters only extinguishing a fire on Reid St just after 11am on Wednesday.
