Businesses destroyed in early morning Moorooka fire, no injuries reported

A fire that erupted in a south Brisbane building in the early hours of Friday caused severe damage to its upper level office space.

The two-storey building affected by the blaze, which erupted at 3:10 a.m., was located at the corner of Beaudesert Road and Wall Street in Moorooka. Emergency services responding to the scene arrived to find the fire coming out of the roof of the building.

“It would have been so hot inside that building, good thing no one was in there,” Inspector Rob O’Connor said, as reported by Courier Mail. He added the fire blazed through both sides of the building. “It’s pretty well gutted but structurally it’s still safe.”

As many as eight crews were called out to the scene. They were able to get the blaze under control by about 4:15 a.m. The fire was extinguished by 6:10 a.m.

The top floor and businesses located downstairs suffered severe damage.

"[The fire] did get intense after it broke out through the windows and got some oxygen," Queensland Fire and Rescue fire commander Ross Cutugno said, as reported by Brisbane Times. "Crews worked internally with breathing apparatus and did a very good job to get the fire under control."

An H&R accountant office, a provisions store and a podiatrist – businesses located on the lower level – suffered minor water damage.

“We’ve got fire investigators coming within the hour and they will start to determine what’s happened and sift through the rubble,” Cutugno said. “At this point in time it’s undetermined [what caused the fire].”

There have been no reports of injuries caused as a result of the incident.

This is the second fire to have affected businesses in Moorooka in less than two weeks. The fire, which occurred on Dec. 28, destroyed a business, Leo’s Snack Bar, in addition to a shop front and an apartment located upstairs. No injuries were reported in the incident.