The day we lost a Macca’s
A look back at significant moments in the North’s history
A TOWNSVILLE CBD icon has gone up in flames.
Mcdonald’s on the Mall has been gutted by a fire that started in the roof of the building and caused extensive damage to the interior.
Distressed workers could only look on as emergency crews worked to extinguish the blaze, and one shaken but unhurt female employee was taken to hospital by paramedics.
None of the employees were injured.
Owner George Colbran said the store would be repaired as soon as possible.
‘‘It will take a few weeks,’’ Mr Colbran said.
‘‘We will get the insurance people in to look at (the damage) and then get the builders in as soon as possible. There’s no suspicious circumstances.
‘‘Something in the exhaust system failed, maybe the airconditioning.”
Fire investigators will inspect the scene on Monday, a Queensland Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said.
‘‘We received multiple triple-0 calls at 4.25pm,” the spokeswoman said. “When we arrived at the premises it was fully engulfed in fire.”
Three vehicles and five teams of firefighters were involved in controlling the blaze.
It was brought under control 4.50pm yesterday.
‘‘At this stage we are not sure of the cause of the blaze,” the spokeswoman said.
‘‘There is internal lining damage and severe damage to the roof, although the structure of the building is standing at a sound level.”
It is thought a compressor in the ceiling malfunctioned and that a plasat tic muffler system on it caught fire, and was the accelerant that set fire to the roof.
Staff were alerted to the fire when a passer-by told them there was smoke billowing from the back of the building.
The manager on duty, who was working on a grill at the time, looked into the roof and saw the flames.
Staff were then evacuated, later losing personal possessions in the blaze.
They were clearly distressed, with one young woman in tears and the manager who was on duty suffering from shock.
‘‘They’re all fine, there were only three people on and it was a relatively quiet time of the day,” Mr Colbran said. ‘‘It’s a good thing no one was injured.”
The staff will be transferred to duties in other Mcdonald’s stores in Townsville while the mall building is repaired.
‘‘No one will be out of work,” Mr Colbran said.
Thick black smoke billowed through Townsville’s inner city at the height of the blaze, drawing a large crowd of curious onlookers.
Despite the loss, Mr Colbran remained optimistic.
‘‘It’s disappointing, but out of bad comes good,” he said.
No other properties in the mall were damaged by the fire.