Koah house fire: Amber Gill charged with arson, appears in Atherton Court, fire investigators examine burned house

A Kuranda woman was arrested and held in custody until she faced Atherton Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning after police allege she deliberately set a house on fire in Koah.

A 43-year-old Kuranda woman has faced Atherton Magistrates Court after being charged following a house fire in Koah overnight.

On Tuesday morning Amber Gill, 43, was charged with one count of arson.

Ms Gill was granted conditional bail with her matter to be held over until April 24 at Mareeba Magistrates Court.

Police will allege a house on Barron St, Koah, was deliberately set on fire shortly before 10pm on Monday, February 27.

A joint investigation into a house fire at Koah was underway on February 28, between Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and Queensland Police at Barron St, Koah, on February 28, 2023. QFES Fire Investigator Aeron Holzhauser (in red and yellow helmet) with a Mareeba Scenes of Crime officer (white helmet) conduct their investigation. Picture: Supplied

Ms Gill was located nearby a short time later and taken into custody.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services confirmed nine fire and emergency crews from Smithfield, Koah and Speewah were called to the single-story house fire around 11pm

A QFES spokesman said breathing apparatus crews were in action straight away and the fire was extinguished around 1.30am.

One Tuesday morning QFES fire investigator Aeron Holzhauser was at the charred house looking to identify the fire’s cause.

A joint investigation into a house fire at Koah was underway on February 28, between Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and Queensland Police at Barron St, Koah, on February 28, 2023. QFES Fire Investigator Aeron Holzhauser (in red and yellow helmet) with a Mareeba Scenes of Crime officer (white helmet) conduct their investigation. Picture: Supplied

“This is a joint investigation between QFES and Queensland Police Service, we have Scenes of Crime officers and Criminal Investigation Branch detectives from Cairns, Mareeba and Kuranda,” Ms Holzhauser said.

“We have an area of origin still under investigation and are still doing sampling and testing.

“There is no obvious outcome at this stage.

“Smoke alarms were present and sounding at time of fire and alerted nearby neighbours.”

No one was inside the home at the time of the fire.

The property appeared to be constructed from concrete blocks brick with a corrugated iron roof.

Queensland Ambulance Service confirmed no patients required assessment at the scene and paramedics remained on standby.

Originally published as Koah house fire: Amber Gill charged with arson, appears in Atherton Court, fire investigators examine burned house