Hawthorne fire tragic update: Man dies after fire engulfed three homes in Brisbane
- Hugh Walker, 66, dies after house fire in Brisbane
- The fire destroyed two homes and damaged another
A man has died in hospital after a ‘ferocious’ house fire engulfed three homes and sent two other men to hospital.
The fire started in a house on Forbes Street in Hawthorne, Brisbane, before spreading to two neighboring properties just after 8pm Saturday.
Hugh Walker, 66, was rescued from the fire by two men in their 30s and rushed to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital before later dying with his death announced on Monday.
The two men were also taken to the same hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, where they remain in stable conditions.
A woman who escaped from the same house as Mr Walker, believed to be his wife, was able to escape the house with minor injuries.
While the fire is not considered suspicious, the devastation left in the aftermath of the blaze prevents authorities from investigating the source of the inferno.
Detective Inspector Steve Newland said the woman, believed to be Mr Walker’s wife, “saw smoke coming out of the back of the dishwasher” shortly before the fire broke out.
“Then through the window she saw flames coming from the back of the house,” said Mr. Newland.
‘Then the male resident went to investigate and discovered a fire at the rear of the building.’
Mr Walker was described by the inspector as ‘so badly injured’ by the ‘confrontational’ fire.
Residents of a neighboring house reported this Courier Mail that their husbands “grabbed” the man after hearing for help.
“We heard windows explode and two men screaming for help,” said a woman who asked to remain anonymous.
“I saw how they pulled the old man out of the house.”
Two houses were destroyed and a third was badly damaged, residents of all three buildings were evacuated.
The fire was so intense that some locals feared that the Powerhouse arts center in Brisbane, 700 meters across the Brisbane River, was on fire.
Lauren Crampton, driving home after watching the football, described the scene as “awful.”
A man has died in hospital after a ‘ferocious’ house fire engulfed three houses on Forbes Street in Brisbane’s Hawthorne and sent two other men to hospital (pictured)
The 66-year-old man, Hugh Walker, was described as being ‘so badly injured’ after being rescued from the blaze which lasted about an hour before firefighters extinguished it
She first thought the ‘ferocious’ fire was a bonfire, but she called 000 when she realized it was a ‘multiple house fire’.
“All I could see was several people smashing windows to make sure no one was inside.”
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) said crews had the house fires under control by 9:20 pm.
But even then it created “a large amount of smoke in the area and surrounding suburbs.”
It warned all local residents to close their windows and doors and anyone with respiratory illnesses to “keep their medicines close at hand.”
The police and QFES were investigating the cause of the fire on Sunday.