Neighbour to rescue
A NEIGHBOUR has told of the moment he tried to save the owners of an Annandale home that was partly destroyed by fire, as investigators look into the cause of the blaze.
Miranda Circle resident Anthony Gabiola opened up his garage door at the end of his street about 1.26pm on Wednesday to see black smoke coming from a single-storey property a few houses away.
Mr Gabiola, 35, was the first person to call triple-0, and ran down to the engulfed house to see if anyone was inside.
“I’ve gone down to the house and another ute went past me … and another guy jumped out and we ran up to the house and knocked on the door,” he said.
“The owner came out and his face was all black with sort of like, soot.
“I was still on the phone … then he ran back into the house and closed the door.
“By then you could just see the house pretty much, there was black smoke around it.”
Fire crews arrived at the house fire at 1.33pm, just seven minutes after Mr Gabiola’s call.
Townsville Station Officer Jay
Roberts said they initially thought the homeowner was still inside the house, but they arrived to find him outside with a garden hose.
The fire caused significant damage to the property, including caving in the roof and completely charring the contents of the garage.
Three fire crews responded to the scene and controlled the fire, before sawing into the garage through the roller door to gain entry.
The content of the garage appeared to be completely charred with the remains of a vehicle parked inside.
Mr Roberts said the cause of the fire was still unknown.
“From the outside there is a lot of structural damage to the garage,” Mr Roberts said. “Now the police and fire investigation units … will come in and conduct their investigations.”
Another neighbour told the Bulletin the homeowners were a retired couple, and that people they knew heard explosions coming from the fire from two streets away.
The man was taken to hospital suffering smoke inhalation and was the only person home at the time.
The house fire was one of numerous across the city in recent weeks, but Mr Roberts said there weren’t any trends emerging.