Proserpine home damaged by fire just days before Christmas

A Central Queensland resident has revealed the moment he saw firefighters break down his neighbours’ door, fearing people were trapped inside the burning building.

A house fire in Chapman Street Proserpine severely damaged in fire. Picture: Michael Downer

An alert neighbour saved a Proserpine house from total disaster in the early hours of Friday, after noticing the Chapman Street home had caught fire.

The neighbour called triple-0 about 1.15am after hearing the smoke alarm, with crews quickly attending the fire and containing it.

Fellow neighbour Michael Downer lives directly across the road and saw fire trucks rushing toward the scene while he was outside his unit having a smoke about 1am.

“Two other neighbours who had smelt smoke and were also in the street were told to stand back,” he said.

“I could see flames from underneath the house and was worried someone might have been inside.

A house fire in Chapman Street Proserpine severely damaged in fire. Picture: Michael Downer

“And I heard the firemen go upstairs and smash the door in.”

Fortunately nobody was home at the time, but the floor was severely damaged by the fire.

“Alarms go off all the time for no reason so it was lucky someone raised the alarm,” Mr Downer said.

“It wasn’t as bad as it could have been but still a terrible thing to happen at Christmas.”

The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.

Paramedics attended the scene but nobody needed treatment.