Police investigate house fire in Elphinstone Street, North Rockhampton

Police tape has cordoned off a property after a house fire began under unusual circumstances and forced the closure of a Rockhampton road.

Police at the scene of a house fire in Elphinstone Street, North Rockhampton, on Thursday, December 29, 2022.

Police cordoned off a North Rockhampton house and called in investigators after a fire on Thursday afternoon.

Police, fire and ambulance crews were called to Elphinstone Street about 1.10pm.

“We responded initially to reports of a tree on fire near a house but it looks like the tree was touching the roof of the house,” a Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said.

“That turned into a house fire.

“Our crews put that one (fire) out in about 20 minutes.”

A police officer stands in front of the Elphinstone Street house after the fire on Thursday, December 29, 2022.

The QFES spokeswoman said after the fire was extinguished, firefighters continued to work on hotspots in the house’s ceiling.

The extent of the damage to the home was still being assessed.

The spokeswoman said it was not yet known how the tree caught on fire.

“Queensland Police Service has been called to the scene - they’re having a crime investigator attend,” the QFES spokeswoman said.

Police tape surrounds the perimeter of the Elphinstone Street house on Thursday, December 29, 2022.

A QPS spokeswoman said police closed Elphinstone Street for a period of time and diverted traffic.

By 2.40pm, the street was reopened but police tape was stretched across the front perimeter of the torched property and there were numerous police officers on site.

One police officer was seen taking photographs.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said paramedics attended the scene but no one required treatment.

On Friday, December 30, police confirmed they had finalised investigations with a QPS spokeswoman saying the fire "was deemed non-suspicious".