Watch: Fire truck hits police car as emergency crews rush to fire at Beach House Hotel

A hotel that was evacuated during a fire has revealed its next steps as staff come to terms with the blaze that happened on the anniversary of the new building opening.

A Hervey Bay hotel has revealed that it will stay closed “at this point” following a fire in which a fire truck hit a police car earlier today.

About 50 people were evacuated from Hervey Bay’s Beach House Hotel on Tuesday as emergency crews respond to a suspected fire in a pizza oven.

A fire truck also struck a police vehicle while trying to gain entry to the scene on Queen St.

Footage from the scene captured a scraping sound as the vehicles come into contact with audible “oh nos” and gasps from the onlookers.

Smoke was seen coming from the roof of the popular venue, on the Esplanade at Scarness, about 11.50am on Tuesday.

Emergency services at the Beach House Hotel after a fire in a pizza oven.

In a social media post, the hotel spokesperson said its bottle shop had reopened but “sadly” the hotel would remain closed.

“As you can appreciate today has been a sad day for our staff as it is our 10th anniversary of the new building opening,” they said.

“We cannot wait to have you all back with us very soon and will keep you up to date via our social media as to when the reopening will happen.

“A big thank you to QPS, QFES and QAS for being on scene quickly and looking after our much loved Beach House Hotel today.”

A Queensland Fire Department spokesman said crews found a fire in the ceiling fan area and it was extinguished by 1.30pm.

Firefighters then ventilated the venue before handing it back to management about 4.30pm, he said.

Earlier, another fire spokesman said two crews were at the scene and another was on the way, along with police and paramedics.

A witness who was evacuated from the hotel praised the staff members who were on duty at the time.

“The Beach House staff did an exceptional job of keeping everyone calm and evacuating the patrons to safety,” she said.

The Chronicle contacted the Queensland Police Service in relation to the crash between the fire truck and police vehicle.

“Police will conduct follow up enquiries in relation to a two-vehicle crash involving a truck and parked police vehicle on a driveway in Scarness today, July 30,” a spokeswoman said.

“No one was injured.

“No further details are available at this time.”