BUTT TO BLAZE Thoughtless motorist cost resident his home

A SINGLE cigarette butt thrown out the window of a car in Horseshoe Lagoon south of Townsville caused resident Angelo Torrisi to lose everything last year.

Now he is speaking out to warn others as fire season ramps up, sharing images for the first time of his home burning to the ground.

Angelo Torrisi was out of town at work a year ago when he received the phone call to say his home near Giru had burnt down.

He said a five-month-long investigation, concluded at the end of January, had revealed a cigarette butt that was thrown from the window of a passing vehicle had caused the blaze.

“(I am sharing the photos so) that everyone can be aware that a small thing like a cigarette butt can cause this level of damage,” Mr Torrisi said.

“I have had to go through a few people suggesting to investigators that I burnt the house myself, that I wasn’t at work; that I was after insurance money.”

Mr Torrisi had lived in his Plantation Ave home for more than 20 years and lost many good memories in the blaze.

Mr Torrisi still works at the mines and is yet to buy another home.

“I still can’t understand it,” he said. “I am staying with friends up here in Townsville.

“I haven’t decided what going to do, exactly.”

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford said four million hectares of land was burnt in 2611 fires across Queensland last year. I am

“After last year’s catastrophic and unprecedented season, QFES is equipped to deal with more major bushfires and our highly skilled firefighters are ready to respond,” he said.

QFES Acting Commissioner Mike Wassing said the Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook reported an increased likelihood of warmer and drier conditions this season.

“Upcoming conditions do not look the same as they did during the 2018-19 season but we can’t afford to rest on our laurels,” he said.