Joanne Daylight loses everything in Kin Kora Drive, Gladstone house fire

A Central Queensland mother and grandmother has spoken about the heartbreak of losing everything in a house fire just before Christmas.

Gladstone's Joanne Daylight lost everything when fire destroyed her Kin Kora Drive home.

Wearing borrowed clothes and covered in soot, Joanne Daylight salvaged what little she could from her fire-destroyed Gladstone home of 27 years.

It was a heartbreaking scene on Wednesday afternoon as the mother of four loaded some of the spared clothing into a van while her daughter Leasa watched.

Joanne had been living at the Kin Kora Drive rental property with Leasa, Joanne’s best friend Chris and his son Wade.

Chris and Joanne, with pet dog Fifi who sadly didn’t survive the fire.

But on Monday, Joanne was out enjoying a night of 8-ball when she received the news that her home of almost three decades was consumed by flames.

“My daughter and her boyfriend were home,” Joanne said.

“My daughter got out of the shower and her boyfriend told her there was fire and that was it, they had to get out of the house and they ran downstairs.”

Gladstone’s Joanne Daylight lost everything when fire destroyed her Kin Kora Drive home.

Joanne said her daughter described it as a “scary” experience.

Sadly Joanne’s pet dog Fifi (pictured above) did not survive the blaze which destroyed the home.

Joanne’s two pet cats have not been seen since and she doesn’t know if they made it out.

Fire destroyed this house at Kin Kora Drive, Gladstone, on November 25. Photo Darryn Nufer.

With three grandkids and a step-grandchild, Joanne said she had hundreds of dollars worth of Christmas presents for them under a tree - all were lost in the fire.

Joanne's Mazda RX-8 was totally destroyed by the fire. Photo Darryn Nufer.

Her Mazda RX-8 parked under the house was also totally destroyed.

“I’d just rebuilt it and it was ready to go back on the road,” Joanne said.

“Inside the house is a mess - you can’t walk in it or anything.

“We lost everything except for some clothes.

“All the birth certificates, all the kids photos, everything’s gone.”

Joanne said nothing was covered by insurance and it appeared the fire was caused by something electrical.

“But I don’t know what,” she said.

“We’ve had (investigators) in the house since the fire and they’re coming back again soon to have a look at it all,” Joanne said on Thursday.

The Kin Kora Drive home was destroyed by fire. Photo Darryn Nufer.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up by Rachael Cooper to help Joanne and Chris rebuild.

It has a $10,000 target - as of Thursday afternoon $5385 had been donated.

“Now, Chris, Joanne, and their family face the overwhelming task of rebuilding their lives from scratch,” Rachael said.

“Chris has worked tirelessly as a cab driver for many years before retirement to provide for his family.

“Today, they need our help more than ever.”

If you would like to donate, visit the GoFundMe page HERE.