PROBE INTO CHARTERS HOUSE FIRE
POLICE and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services investigators are sifting through the wreckage of a house fire in Charters Towers.
Charters Towers QFES station officer in charge Peter Marten said firefighters were called to the house at 10.45pm on Thursday.
On arrival they found the house fully ablaze and a neighbouring property under threat.
“The property where the fire originated was fully engulfed when we arrived and not long after arrival the roof collapsed,” he said.
“Crews also went into rapid action to protect the adjacent property.”
He said the fire was extinguished by 1am with a single crew remaining on scene to watch for any flare-ups.
Mr Marten said the cause of the fire was under investigation with the QFES Fire Investigation Unit and police at the property on Friday.
Charters Towers police station officer in charge Senior Sergeant Neil King said there was no one in the house when the fire started.
He said there were a number of witnesses who were helping police with their inquiries.
Sen-sgt King said police were treating the fire as suspicious and were guarding the property as a crime scene.
It is understood fuel cans were found at the scene, although it is yet to be determined if an accelerant was used or the house was deliberately set alight.
Witnesses attempted to put out the fire with a garden hose before emergency crews arrived.
It is understood a person was seen lying on the footpath.