Illegal dance parties blamed for blaze at The Spit on NYE
Gold Coast council is facing more pressure to take action at The Spit in the wake of a large fire on New Years Eve. Read why.
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A large out-of-control bushfire at The Spit on New Years Eve has reignited calls for Gold Coast council to do more to tackle illegal parties and anti-social behaviour at the iconic site.
About two hectares of bushland was engulfed by the inferno which was sparked near Doug Jennings park about 4am on January 1.
Friends of Federation Walk president Lyn Wright said the blaze appeared to have started in an area where illegal raves, known as ‘doof doof’ parties, continue to be regularly held.
“These illegal doofs are now found to be operating in Federation Walk every two weeks,” Mrs Wright said.
“We keep on telling the doof DJs – with petrol generators mind you – of the repercussions of illegal activity as well as fire.”
Illegal parties have been an ongoing issue at The Spit with revellers causing damage to plants and trashing parts of the $8 million nature-based attraction.
“This topic has been discussed at every Main Beach Collective Meeting convened by councillor Darren Taylor, for at least two or three years,” Mrs Wright said.
“So will fire stop these illegal doofs that Queensland Police Service and council couldn’t?”
A spokeswoman for Gold Coast City Council, which is responsible for area, said: “The City was not aware of and did not receive any complaints about a party held at The Spit on New Year’s Eve.”
The exact cause of the fire has not been determined but the Bulletin has confirmed some sort of rave event was held at The Spit on New Years Eve with one attendee, speaking on the grounds of anonymity, revealing they feared for partygoers as the fire erupted.
“We were all just off our heads with this fire coming towards us and no one seemed to be taking it seriously,” they said.
“The wind was blowing at us I was like, ‘guys we need to go’. But people weren’t listening.”
The witness, who grew up around bushfires, said they called triple-0 out of fear for those attending the rave.
“I was like, ‘there’s a fire at The Spit. I’m at a rave in the bush here with all these people and the fire is coming at us. No one is leaving because they are off their heads – can you get a firetruck around here to get everyone out’,” they said.
“Once they realised what I was saying they sent people to find us and got everyone out.”
A Queensland Fire Department spokeswoman said once the blaze was extinguished, the scene was left with police for further investigation into the cause.
In a statement a Queensland Police Service spokesman said: “Anyone who saw the incident or has any CCTV or dashcam vision in the area at the time is asked to contact police.”
Councillor Darren Taylor was contacted for comment but no response was received by deadline.
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Originally published as Illegal dance parties blamed for blaze at The Spit on NYE
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