Young Cairns mum charged with arson after ‘significant’ Cairns quarantine hotel fire

Police have charged a 31-year-old mother of two after an intense fire gutted two rooms on the top floor of Cairns’ quarantine hotel.

UPDATE, 3.30PM: Police have charged a Cairns woman with arson after fire destroyed part of a Covid-19 quarantine hotel in the CBD.

Police will allege the 31-year-old woman lit a fire underneath a bed in the room where she had been staying with two children around 7am.

The blaze was extinguished however the Pacific Hotel suffered significant damage.

All other occupants of the hotel were safely evacuated and have since been relocated.

No one was injured.

The Manoora woman has been charged with one count each of arson and wilful damage and is due to appear in Cairns Magistrates Court on November 29.

EARLIER: Police have taken a 31-year-old mother of two into custody and expect to lay charges of arson following a “significant” fire at Cairns’ quarantine hotel.

The blaze, which began around 7am this morning on the top floor of the Pacific Hotel, sparked a massive emergency services response which saw all 163 quarantine residents evacuated in the space of about five minutes.

Fire engulfs the Pacific Hotel in the Cairns CBD. Picture: 10 News

Spence Street was swamped by numerous Queensland Fire and Emergency Service vehicles, police vehicles, and ambulances immediately after the fire broke out.

Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Hodgman said a 31-year-old who had arrived into Cairns from Victoria was in police custody at the Cairns watch house.

“I expect later on this morning that a 31-year-old female will be charged with arson and the possibility of other offences,” he said.

“I can’t go into any further details about how the fire started because it’s a sensitive investigation at this time.

"All I can say is we have our top investigators working with QFES and others to look at the scene which is currently a crime scene at this time.”

Supt Hodgman said there had been “some issues” with the woman since she was placed into quarantine on November 26 but was unable to elaborate further.

He said there had been some amazing work by police, the Australian Defence Force, QFES, and staff of the Pacific Hotel to evacuate all the residents safely.

“We’re lucky to have had a second quarantine facility here in Cairns and we’re well practised, and we’ve exercised this actual scenario. Staff were well aware of what they needed to do to evacuate,” he said.

All the residents are now being managed at Cairns’ back-up quarantine facility, the Holiday Inn.

Supt Hodgman said the rooms and possibly a number of floors of the hotel would be unusable as a result of the “quite intense” fire.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said seven patients were assessed by paramedics after the fire, with one requiring transport to Cairns Hospital for respiratory issues.

Police declared a PSPA area within Abbott St, Shields St, Spence St, The Esplanade and Fogarty Park around 7.30am and it remained in place for several hours.

Originally published as Young Cairns mum charged with arson after ‘significant’ Cairns quarantine hotel fire