Mooney St house fire: Two fight for live after devastating Townsville blaze
Police investigating the Boxing Day blaze that razed a family home and left two people fighting for their lives have stated that they believe the fire was “deliberately lit”.
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Police investigating the Boxing Day blaze that razed a family home and left two people fighting for their lives have stated that they believe the fire was “deliberately lit”.
“Police are treating this fire as suspicious, we believe it was deliberately lit,” Detective Inspector Damien Smith said at a news conference on Friday afternoon.
The officer in charge of the investigation into the house fire Mooney St in the early hours of Thursday confirmed that police had conducted a forensic examination of the crime scene but it would “take time for the results to come back”.
“In relation to the (possible) accelerants, obviously the examination has just been completed, it will take time for the results of those examinations to be known, to become available to police, but the circumstances about how the fire has commenced has led police to believe the fire has been intentionally lit.
Detective Inspector Damien Smith said the 3am house fire on Mooney St was first spotted by police officers who were patrolling the area in the early hours of December 26.
Those officers rushed to the house to assist the occupants, with one officer later being taken to hospital.
Three people - all relatives - were injured in the blaze and two are in a critical condition.
Det. Ins. Smith said even CCTV footage of a seemingly empty street could be relevant for the police investigation.
At time of print, a 55-year-old woman is in a critical condition and has been flown to Brisbane, and a 83-year-old man is in a critical condition with “significant airway burns”.
“The family is struggling right now, it’s been a big loss,” Det. Ins. Smith said.
“They are assisting us where they can.”
GoFundMe
A GoFundMe page has been established for the victims of the horrific Townsville house blaze, as two members of the family continue to fight for life.
The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital confirmed at midday that a 50-year-old woman was in a critical condition following the ‘suspicious’ fire in Mooney St in the early hours of Thursday.
Townsville University Hospital also confirmed that a man in his 80s was also critical, while a man in his 50s who had suffered minor burns remained stable.
A GoFundMe has been established for members of the Kerr family, two of whom were “fighting for life”.
“The family have lost all of their belongings, vehicles, family pets and invaluable items,” crowd-funding organiser Kellie Morgan said.
The PAGE has already raised $6000.
Ms Morgan said two of the family’s five missing pets had also been found alive but “the road to recovery will be long and challenging”.
“Any contributions to support the Kerr family during this incredibly difficult time would be truly appreciated.”
Townsville Police are holding a news conference at 1pm.
More to come.
EARLIER
A woman suffering life-threatening airway burns from a house fire in Gulliver has been taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for treatment.
The woman in her 50s remains in a critical and stable condition following a ‘suspicious’ fire in Mooney St in the early hours of Thursday, from which she suffered airway burns.
Two other people were also injured, including an 80-year-old man who remained in the Townsville University Hospital in a critical condition.
Another man in his 50s who had been taken to hospital remained in a stable condition with minor burns.
Police had declared a crime scene and were continuing investigations in what they considered ‘suspicious’ circumstances in a house fire that happened at about 3.05am that morning.
Neighbouring houses were evacuated because of the heat coming from the blaze.
Meanwhile, a woman affected by the fire had appealed on Facebook for information on missing pets that had been on the property.
Maddi Simmons Kerr said a Jack Russel, a female bull terrier, a tortoiseshell six-month old female kitten and a large male cat were still missing.
She said that a creamy coloured cattle dog named Bear had been found badly injured and was being treated at James Cook University.
“Please, please report any possible sightings, check under your houses, gardens, cars,” she posted.
“Bear was hiding in a garden and didn’t bark out till he heard our voices calling.”
Ms Simmons Kerr said there was reason to believe the bull terrier had also been able to escape the inferno, but there remained no sign of her.
Another missing Jack Russel had been found shortly after the fire.
THURSDAY: Police have declared a crime scene and are investigating what they are now deeming to be a ‘suspicious’ house fire that left three people in hospital and two with ‘significant’ life-threatening burns overnight in Gulliver.
Emergency services were called to Mooney Street, Gulliver, at about 3.05am Thursday.
Queensland Ambulance Service said two men and a woman were taken to the Townsville University Hospital.
A man in his 80s and a woman in her 50s were reported to have “significant” life-threatening airway burns.
A man in his 50s was in a stable condition with minor burns.
A Townsville University Hospital spokeswoman provided an update on the patients at 9.45am, saying the 80-year-old man and the 50-year-old woman were in a “critical but stable” position.
The 50-year-old man remained stable.
Neighbouring houses had to be evacuated due to the heat from the blaze.
Police are investigating the circumstances of the fire, with a crime scene declared and investigations into the cause ongoing.
A Queensland Fire Department spokesman said the house was engulfed by fire and crews were still working to put it out at 7.30am.
“We had a house that was well involved when we arrived,” the spokesman said.
“We had four crews on scene.
“Crews are still working to extinguish the fire.”
Mooney St between Palmerston St and Tippet St was closed to motorists and pedestrians for some time due to the fire.
Also in Townsville, QAS attended an incident in Black River after a vehicle collided with a pedestrian on the Bruce Highway at about 8.43pm on Wednesday.
A man in his 30s had potentially life-threatening head, pelvic and chest injuries when taken to the Townsville University Hospital.
A woman has urged the community for information about her pets, hoping that they had escaped.
Maddi Simmons Kerr sought information on Facebook on a missing Jack Russel, a female white bull terrier, a male creamy coloured cattle dog, a tortoiseshell six month old female kitten and a large blue male cat.
Another missing Jack Russel had quickly been found.
She said all animals had collars with numbers on and were microchipped.
“Our home was involved in a fire this morning, it is a long shot if any of our pets escaped but in the hopeful chance they did, if anyone sees any of them please contact me,” she said
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Originally published as Mooney St house fire: Two fight for live after devastating Townsville blaze
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