Elderly woman dies after being pulled from Brisbane blaze
Queensland police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding a house fire at Woodridge, south of Brisbane, that killed a 73-year-old woman overnight.
Fire crews were called to the fire at the Woodridge unit complex, south of Brisbane, where a 73-year-old woman was found unresponsive. Photo: ABC
Emergency services were called to a low-rise apartment complex on Ewing Road just before 2:00am.
Fire crews forced their way into the unit and brought the woman outside. Paramedics performed CPR, but she could not be revived and died at the scene.
Police are investigating the cause of the blaze but a police spokesperson said the death was “non-suspicious”.
“We are preparing a non-suspicious report for the coroner because that is what our investigators determined at the scene,” the spokesperson said.
It is believed the woman lived alone and raised an alarm through a medical alert bracelet.
Four fire crews were called to the scene. Neighbours said they were woken by the sound of sirens before a strong “bushfire smell” filled the area.
“It lit up my kitchen because I’ve only got a curtain on my kitchen,” said Rosalind Martin, who lives two doors away.
“I thought it was a [car] accident just down at the lights there, then I came out and I saw the fire brigade.
“I never thought anything about it being like a house on fire, a unit on fire.”
Another neighbour Sara Cumberland said fire crews did a good job to quickly extinguish the blaze.
“You could see some of the flames but the fire brigade got most of it under control pretty well … I give them all the credit,” Cumberland said.
“Two o’clock in the morning it wouldn’t be something that you suspect having a house on fire. It’s pretty heartbreaking.”
Cumberland said she was saddened by her neighbour’s death.
“It’s just heartbreaking because everyone around here is really nice.”
