Smoke alarms save woman’s life after fire destroys home overnight

Flames engulfed a Toowoomba region home overnight and reduced it to ash as details emerge of how a woman’s life was saved by smoke detectors.

Fire destroyed a home on Hume Street, Pittsworth on August 29, 2024.

A woman has her smoke alarms to thank for saving her life after fire took hold while she slept.

The Queensland Fire Department was called to the blaze on Hume Street in Pittsworth, about 10.30pm on Thursday.

A QFD spokeswoman said they arrived to find the house fully engulfed in flames.

The structure was evacuated and no one was injured.

The female occupant woke to the sound of her fire alarms.

Firefighters worked to protect nearby homes and had the fire under control by 11.30pm.

They were called back to the scene about 1.30am on Friday after a brief flare up.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said a female occupant was asleep when the fire started, and woke to the sound of smoke alarms.

The fire is being treated as non-suspicious and police unconfirmed reports that it was started by a candle that may have been left alight.