Witnesses say luckily elderly occupant not home when fire consumed Clifton property

Fire crews have returned to the scene of a Clifton house fire this morning, which destroyed an elderly man’s property.

Fire engulfed a Clifton property on the afternoon on Thursday, February 11 2021.

UPDATE, 2pm: A car fire is believed to have been the cause of a devastating house blaze in Clifton overnight.

Multiple crews were called to the site of the Olley’s Honey warehouse around 5pm Thursday, after a house and office space in the front of the property caught fire.

The two occupants, Ken and Shirley Olley, were not at home at the time.

Friend of the couple, Robert Crofts, had been working at the site when the fire started.

“I was up in the van when another employee ran out screaming there was a fire,” Mr Crofts said.

“I raced around the front with two fire extinguishers and found a car on fire, a Camry which used to belong to a priest from Toowoomba.

“By the time I got the extinguisher working, it exploded and the fire went over us.”

Mr Crofts said his first thought was the safety of the staff.

“The fire went up the wall in a ball, I grabbed (one of the employees) Rodel and threw him straight out of the road,” he said.

“The fumes and the heat came out, I asked Rodel to call triple 0 and he couldn’t even do that – he was in shock.

“It wouldn’t have mattered if I had 100 fire extinguishers, it just ignited.”

A call was placed to the local emergency services, and multiple fire crews were soon on scene.

Property owner Ken Olley, brother of esteemed Australian artist Margaret Olley, and his wife lost priceless artworks, historical documents and memorabilia in the blaze.

“You only reflect on it afterwards, what would have happened if someone had been in there,’ Mr Crofts said.

“Ken had gone home (to Toowoomba) the night before, and it’s lucky because there was no way we would have gotten him out of the door.”

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services investigation is continuing.

Earlier: A man’s home has been destroyed in a devastating Toowoomba region blaze on Thursday afternoon.

The occupant, an elderly man, was not at home when his property was engulfed in flames.

Witnesses said the man would not have been able to escape the blaze if he had have been in the property.

Multiple crews were called to the blaze, on Logan Rd, about 5pm Thursday.

The fire was extinguished at 9.35pm, with reported damage to the property’s roof.

This morning, two fire crews have returned to the scene after they found slight reignition of hot spots within the home.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said firefighters were using water on the smouldering areas within the property.

She also added the fire investigation unit was in attendance.