It is believed that a malfunctioning gas bottle may have exploded and caused a fire that destroyed the caravan and tents of two families at a popular Queensland camping area.
The Courier Mail reports that an elderly couple and a woman and her children lost their home in the incident at Murphy’s Creek Escape in the Lockyer Valley.
A Queensland Fire and Emergency spokesman said six crews were called to the blaze on Tuesday afternoon, and found the caravan engulfed in flames.
Owner of Murphy’s Creek Escape, Alberta Western, told the newspaper that a 70-year-old woman who requires oxygen 24/7, was stuck in her caravan when the fire began.
Fire destroyed a caravan and tents at the campsite. PIC: Moein Moradi / Pexels
“She has no mobility so it was very stressful,” she said. “When people ran into the van to get her out the flames where already on the annexe, they had to rip her oxygen mask off to get her out because the tube was caught on something behind the bed.”
The Courier Mail reports that, when Queensland Ambulance paramedics arrived, the woman was given an oxygen mask and transported to the Toowoomba Hospital for smoke inhalation, alongside her 80-year-old husband.
Ms Western said it was heartbreaking to see the long-term residents lose everything, but she was determined to help them rebuild.
“We love them and will do everything we can to get them back on their feet,” she told the Courier Mail. “This unfolded in a moment and the outcome could have been so, so much worse … hug your loved ones tight tonight.”
The park as a whole was not affected by the fire and continues to operate.
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A lot of caravan parks should be reassessed by the Fire & Rescue Departments in relation to the close proximity to each other, as park owners try to maximise their profits; in so doing there creating an extremely hazardous situation.
A lot of caravan parks have not evolved in line with the change in size of caravans