A FAMILY lost all their belongings in a house fire at a property on the Karrabin Rosewood Road at Walloon on Saturday night.
The two storey Queenslander had been rented by the family for a year when the fire broke out inside the ground floor.
When the fire started, four children and their babysitter were sitting on the back deck of the home and they all escaped uninjured.
However, none of the family’s belongings were able to be salvaged.
A motorist who happened to be driving past at the time of the fire has spoken about the intensity of the fire.
“If those firies hadn’t arrived, both buildings beside it would have caught fire, too,” Andrew Gladman said.
“Two neighbouring homes were already scorched; the fire was near a servo, too.”
Five fire crews arrived at 3.10pm to tackle the fire.
Mr Gladman, who lives nearby, said he had never felt heat so intense.
“It was burning us through the window of our car from across the road,” he said.
“The house lit up so quickly but luckily the family managed to get out the back.”
Mr Gladman said the family told him they had lost everything.
“They had just bought all their Christmas presents. Everything was lost in the fire, their presents, the car, their possessions.”
Mr Gladman said residents will now help the family.
“We’re going to get some money together and buy some presents,” he said.
“It’s such a devastating thing to happen two weeks out from Christmas.”
To help the family, please phone Crystel on 0473 462 714 or Mr Helpman on 0411 487 366.
The cause of the fire is as yet unknown.
