Ashgrove house collapses with elderly woman inside

An elderly Ashgrove woman had a lucky escape on Thursday morning when her house collapsed around her, as it fell off its stumps.

Josephine Curties, 85, was sitting in the loungeroom when the Brown Parade house collapsed about 10.20am.

Her daughter, Mandy Curties-Partridge, said it appeared recent wet weather had caused the stumps to sink into the earth.

“It’s really a miracle she is [all right],” she said.

Mandy Curties-Partridge.Credit: William Davis

Curties-Partridge said some nearby workers came to her mother’s aid when they realised she was trapped inside.

“I think they’re extremely brave young men,” she said, adding that she planned to nominate them for a bravery award.

“It takes a lot of guts for young men to pull the old lady out. They said it was smelling of gas very badly, until the gas men came and did the disconnection.”

Curties-Partridge said the house was originally built in New Farm before being moved to Ashgrove in 1945. It was cut into seven pieces for the move, she said, and those pieces appeared to have come apart on Thursday.

“It’s really unfortunate because it’s a beautiful dwelling and [I have] so many memories of growing up there,” she said.

“What a tragedy … there’s no way to rebuild it.”

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said six crews attended the scene.

The house collapsed on Thursday morning.Credit: William Davis

There, they found an old Queenslander house that had “slid off its stilts” with Curties inside.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said paramedics treated Curties at the scene. There were no major injuries, she said, other than some abrasions.

The Brown Avenue house collapsed about 10.20am on Thursday.Credit: Nine News

Gas and electricity supply needed to be isolated by attending Energex crews, the QFES spokesman said.