REMEMBER WHEN GOLD COAST BULLETIN

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

A MAN was in a critical condition with third-degree burns and 15 horses escaped alive after the city’s most iconic racing stables caught fire next to the Gold Coast Turf Club.

The Coast’s close-knit racing fraternity rushed to the stables owned by well-known racing identity Graham Henderson after a small unit at the top of the complex caught alight shortly before 8pm.

Heroic passers-by pulled an unconscious man, known as ‘‘Dougie’’, out of the building and began CPR as strappers, trainers and turf club staff assisted in freeing horses in the line of the fire.

Running out of hands, police officers were left to lead racehorses around in the streets as they freed the thoroughbreds from the city’s longest-standing stable complex, which neighbours legendary Gold Coast trainers such as Noel Doyle, Trevor Whittington and Stephen Jones.

Horses were taken to the Traintech facility to be rehoused.

Miraculously, none perished in the ferocious fire, which lit up Bundall.

Witnesses were hailed as heroes when they started CPR on the man on the roadside as paramedics raced to the scene.

Early investigations suggested an electrical fault could have caused the fire. Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Stephen Burns said ambulance officers found the man had upper-body burns and injuries to his head.

‘‘We are talking serious burns,’’ he said. ‘‘He was certainly still unconscious when we arrived at hospital. Members of the public were performing resuscitation when we arrived.’’