Howard house fire claims home, Christmas presents

A Fraser Coast woman has told how her family lost their home, belongings and Christmas presents in a horror fire. The home was well known in the area for its Christmas lights display.

A home was gutted by fire in Howard with the family losing Christmas presents and their belongings.

A woman whose family lost everything in a house fire at Howard this week has thanked those who tried to save her home.

Tanya Jackson described the fire as an ‘”unfortunate accident” in a Facebook post after the blaze destroyed her home in Annie St.

The blaze ignited about 3.30pm on Thursday, with fire crews arriving at the scene about 25 minutes later.

The brick home, which is well known in the area for its Christmas lights display, was gutted by the flames.

A spokeswoman for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service said the cause of the fire was being investigated.

Ms Jackson said she appreciated everything that had been done in an effort to save her family’s home.

“It wasn’t meant to be,” she wrote.

“We will rebuild hopefully sooner rather than later.

“We have family nearby we can live with.

“My husband, myself, my brother and his three kids are processing what this means for us.

“We are insured, we work hard and have savings to replace some of what was lost.

“We are okay, that’s all that matters.”

Speaking to the Chronicle on Saturday, Ms Jackson said the family had been ready for Christmas and would have to replace presents that had been lost.

They have a caravan and were going shopping on Saturday to replace essentials.

A trailer went up in flames at Torbanlea.

In a separate incident at Torbanlea on December 1, a trailer carrying cow hide caught fire on the Bruce Highway near the BP service station.

The driver was able to escape uninjured after detaching the trailer.