Emergency services rush to scene of duplex fire at Paradise Point

Emergency services have been called to a raging house fire on the northern Gold Coast on Thursday afternoon. WATCH

Emergency services have been called to a raging house fire on the northern Gold Coast on Thursday afternoon.

At around 2:30pm, Firefighters, police and paramedics were called to a duplex engulfed in flames on Drake Ave, Paradise Point.

House fire at Paradise Point. Thursday, August 18. Picture: Kathleen Skene.

A police spokesperson told the Bulletin all occupants appeared to have escaped the building. Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics were at the scene of the blaze and were assessing one stable patient, a man in his 60s, as of 2.35pm.

The fire has sparked a significant emergency response. Picture: Kathleen Skene.

As of 3:30pm, firefighters were still working to extinguish the fire, while Drake Ave has been closed to cars and pedestrians.

Smoke continues to pour from the lowset brick building into the surrounding streets.

A tradie working on a neighbour’s house is understood to have helped a man from the house, which had flames and smoke pouring from the roof, which has since collapsed.

Firefighters in breathing apparatus have searched the property and it is understood there’s no one else inside.

A witness who helped the man from the burning building, but did not want to be named, said the fire may have started in a bin area at the back of the property.

“It just went up so fast, I had to duck on the way out as there was so much black smoke,” he said.

“It just f*** went.”

Police detectives and a specialist breathing apparatus and hazardous material truck have arrived at the scene.

Shaken neighbour Tahnee Wilson called triple-0 after hearing windows breaking and someone screaming “fire!”

“I came out and it was a big black cloud,” she said.

“Luckily, there were tradies on the street who were helping the man get out.

“I ran inside ours to see what I could grab, and noticed the side wall, where my baby’s room is, was all in flames.”

Her baby son, thankfully, was at daycare when the drama unfolded in the duplex next door.

A man escaped the front unit of the burning property, while Ms Wilson helped a second man escape.

“I called the fire brigade, grabbed our neighbour that was in the back flat, made sure he got out,” she said.

“Then the house was just engulfed.”

QFRS Hollywell station officer David Gemeri and his team faced intense flames when they arrived on scene.

“The rear unit had already been destroyed,” he said.

“The second one, the occupant was coming out of the front window.

“Initially we were told there was someone in the rear unit so we set to work creating access, but within 10 minutes we were told by QPS that she was out.

“Both units have been destroyed and they were very hot, very quick.”