Investigations underway following blaze at old church on Arthur St, Roma

Community leaders fear a fire bug may be behind the destruction of a historical church overnight, it comes just one month after the devastating Romavilla winery blaze.

A second old abandoned building has burnt to the ground following a giant blaze which engulfed ‘three quarters’ of the site in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

A church located at 65 Arthur St, Roma has mysteriously gone up in flames after fire crews spent three hours battling to contain the blaze.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said they received reports of the fire at 1.10am on July 27 and confirmed no occupants were present.

The spokesman said the first of five fire crews arrived at 1.20am in the morning.

The structure was “well-involved”, with mention of three quarters of the building collapsing.

An old church on Arthur St, Roma collapses as it goes up in flames in the early hours of Wednesday morning, July 27. Picture: Facebook.

By 4am the fire had been extinguished, with a fire investigator and one crew remaining on scene until later in the morning.

Police have since declared the building a crime scene.

State Warrego MP Ann Leahy said she was devastated to hear of the loss of another historical building, calling for a thorough police investigation to determine the cause of both fires.

“It’s very concerning to have two timber structure fires in such close succession,” Ms Leahy said.

“I would hope police are doing a full and detailed investigation.

“I don’t think we can put this all down to coincidence.

“I urge people to be extremely vigilant. There’s some other not as well attended timber structures around the community, and I ask building owners to be alert.

“Unfortunately this reminds me of something that happened in Dalby a few years back… (and) there was an arsonist.

“It’s really sad, we’re losing some beautiful buildings.”

What's left of the old church on 65 Arthur St, Roma which caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning, July 27 2023. Picture: Supplied.

Federal Maranoa member David Littleproud said he was grateful to firefighters who contained the flame and stopped it from spreading next door to his office.

“I’m very fortunate they helped save my office,” he said.

“Obviously I was shocked and glad no one was injured.

“It shows how lucky we are for our emergency personnel, especially in Roma where a lot of them are volunteers.

“We are fortunate to have a community act so swiftly.”

Street view of the old church on 65 Arthur St, Roma. Picture: Google Maps.

Mr Littleproud said it was important to not jump to conclusions and now is the time to “wait and watch” to allow investigators time to make their findings.

“Now it’s important to give police time to do their investigation. There needs to be some calm.

“In small communities, speculations are always there.

“We need to have faith in these institutions (police).”

Queensland Police confirmed in a statement they’re investigating a “suspicious fire in an abandoned church” which has caused “substantial damage” to the building.

Anyone who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area or have dashcam is urged to contact Roma Police.

Originally published as Investigations underway following blaze at old church on Arthur St, Roma