Man pulls mum from Koongal, Rockhampton, house fire

Residents praised the quick work of firefighters after a fire destroyed a house and burned car parts this morning.

A house was destroyed in a fire about 7am on April 13, 2025, at Kirby Street, Koongal, in Rockhampton.

A mother has been pulled from a raging house fire by her son this morning after smashing a window, according to eyewitness reports.

Emergency services were called to a fully involved house fire in Kirby St, Koongal, just after 7am.

A Queensland Fire Department spokeswoman said four crews attended the scene at 7.15am after being called at 7.08am, and found the single-storey house fire “well involved”.

She said everyone was out of the house and QFD crews had the fire under control by 7.50am and completely extinguished by 8am.

Kirby Street residents spoke with The Morning Bulletin this morning, praising the quick actions of the firefighters.

A house was destroyed in a fire about 7am on April 13, 2025, at Kirby Street, Koongal, in Rockhampton.

One woman said she had been outside about the time the fire started and noticed what she thought was morning mist about 7am.

She said she went inside momentarily, and when she came back out, she saw another resident run across four or five houses towards the end of the street and saw the mist was actually smoke.

The woman said the man who lived in the house, who is in 20s, pulled his mother out after she smashed a window to escape.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said neither of the two occupants of the house were assessed nor transported by QAS.

The house, which is next to Ken Baker Park, appeared to be a timber structure.

A house was destroyed in a fire about 7am on April 13, 2025, at 310 Kirby Street, Koongal, in Rockhampton.

The front yard and driveway were strewn with car parts, including batteries, tyres, and a chemical drum visible from the road.

”It was really toxic smoke,” the woman said.

She and others told The Morning Bulletin they could smell petrol burning and other toxic smells.

They also said bangs were coming from the fire.

The residents said they closed all their windows and doors to avoid breathing in the bad fumes.

A second woman, praising the efforts of the firefighters, said they got the fire out in about 10 mins.

“They did a hell of a job,” she said.

She also said they were the best-looking firefighters she’d ever seen, and so were the Queensland Police Service officers who attended.

A QPS spokesman said investigators were attempting to determine the cause of the fire.

Originally published as Man pulls mum from Koongal, Rockhampton, house fire