Sarina Junior Rugby League sports shed destroyed in horror mower fire

Black smoke and the smell of burning plastic filled the air as a fire tore through a shed, sending a man to hospital with burns and leaving a junior rugby league club with a massive bill. VIDEO.

Shocking new details have been revealed in a fire at a rugby league field which sent one man to hospital and left a community reeling.

On Thursday January 23, 2025, emergency services rushed to the Sarina Junior Rugby League Fields at Brewers Park after a sporting equipment shed caught fire.

A statement from the Sarina Junior Rugby League Committee revealed the fire started after a volunteer groundsman returned from mowing the fields when the mower caught fire and exploded.

Subsequently the fire spread to nearby fuel drums, completely destroying the shed and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.

Sarina 12-year-old Emmylou Hussey was returning from swimming with her friends at Rifle Range at approximately 1.25pm when she and her mother saw the smoke.

“We thought it was a house fire and then when we got there, we saw it was the footy shed,” Ms Hussey said.

She said the air reeked of plastic and there was black smoke everywhere.

Emmylou Hussey captured the fire, which was started by a mower catching fire before spreading to nearby fuel drums. Photo: Emmylou Hussey

The volunteer, a man in his 70s, was burned on his hands, arms and legs before he was rushed to Mackay Hospital for treatment.

The SJRL Committee said although the volunteer had been returned home, he had a long recovery ahead.

“Our thoughts are with both him and his family at this time.”

Chairman of the Brewers Park Committee Michael Newton said the committee was in a state of shock following the incident.

“We’re very sorry for the injury that’s happened to the volunteer,” Mr Newton said.

Mr Newton estimated the fire destroyed approximately $20,000 in sporting and training equipment, a $10,000 irrigator and the $20,000 mower.

All told, he estimated the club’s losses were approximately $150,000 including the destroyed shed.

“We’ve got 350+ junior members so its very upsetting considering the season has just begun,” he said.

“We’re working tirelessly to get the kids up and going again.”

QFD arrived to the scene and extinguished the fire by 2.30pm. Photo: Emmylou Hussey.

So far Mr Newton has reached out to council and other community groups for support in the recovery and is now reaching out to the broader community .

“We’ll be needing a new mower, irrigator equipment to continue with the start of the season … we’re putting all of our support behind them,” he said.

Ms Hussey’s thoughts were with the volunteer, who she hoped would get better soon, as well as the club.

“I just hope the community can help the club build the equipment shed back up again,” she said.

To help in the recovery the public can contact the Sarina Sporting service at

The public can contact the Sarina JRL secretary at [e-mail] or the Sarina Sporting Services at [e-mail] to support the recovery.

Originally published as Sarina Junior Rugby League sports shed destroyed in horror mower fire