Burnt to ground at Goomboorian

Smoke billows up from the fire which destroyed a home at Goomboorian late yesterday. Photo- Craig Warhurst.

A GOOMBOORIAN man was left homeless last night after his rented home was reduced to a blackened skeleton by fire.

Firefighters were called to the scene at Ross Rd at 3.45pm after neighbours reported clouds of black smoke and flames coming from the property.

The resident, who asked not to be named, had just returned from getting chips from the local service station when he returned to find his home ablaze.

With nothing but the clothes on his back, and his two dogs, he is left with the grim reality that his home and belongings are gone. “Everything was in there, I’ve got nothing,” he said.

Brothers Bradley and John Blackwood were the first to arrive at the property followed by the Goomboorian rural fire brigade.

Crews initially worked to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading upwards into the hills, potentially causing a serious bushfire.

Four rural fire trucks and two urban trucks later arrived; by this stage the house was engulfed in flames and little could be done to save it.

As crews fought to control the fire, sheets of iron collapsed around them and the old wood turned to black ash.

Gympie acting station officer Bill Edgar said the fire was believed to have started in the back corner of the house before it quickly spread to the front.

He said fire investigators would inspect the home.

At this stage the cause of the fire is not known.

The house was believed to have been a 100-year-old homestead.

No further properties were threatened from the bushfire, however residents in the area were expected to be affected by smoke.

They were advised to keep their doors and windows closed and those with respiratory conditions were told to keep their medications close by.

This article was written while undertaking work experience at The Gympie Times. The original version of this article can be viewed on the Gympie Times website: http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/burnt-to-ground-at-goomboorian/2172997/