28-year-old man arrested after early morning house fire at Raceview

A Raceview man has been remanded in custody after fronting an Ipswich court over a fire early on Friday. WATCH THE VIDEO

A man arrested in connection with an Ipswich house on fire has been remanded in custody on a return-to-prison warrant.

Jeremiah Jonathon Murray, 28, was arrested soon after a Raceview house, used by released prisoners under supervision, was engulfed in flames on Friday morning (November 12).

The case was set aside for mention on December 1 and no bail application was made.

Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the Wildey St, Raceview, home about 2.40am.

On arrival the top storey of the home was engulfed in flames.

It took five firefighting crews 25 minutes to get the fire under control.

Four people were lucky to escape the house uninjured.

It took five firefighting crews 25 minutes to get the fire under control at a Raceview home. Photo supplied

Neighbour Lee Wherton said he and his family woke amid chaos about 2.30am.

When he saw flames leaping above the roof next door he got up and heard a loud bang which he at first thought was a gunshot.

“I told my wife not to go out but the animals were going crazy,” he said. She was a zoo keeper so we have dogs, guinea pigs, snakes, a lot of animals.

“So while she dealt with them I raced out and got the hose pipe and was trying to hose a big tree near my house. It’s made of wood and if the flames had jumped we would have lost it.”

Police declared a crime scene at the site and spent Friday with fire investigators combing through the burned remains.