Authorities have found the body of a man who perished in an overnight Brisbane unit blaze, the second southeast Queensland fire tragedy this week.
A woman badly burnt in the Runcorn fire remains in a stable condition in hospital, but police said in a statement this afternoon they had found a body during the search for her missing husband.
A post-mortem would be conducted to confirm the person’s identity, while detectives would prepare a report for the coroner, the statement said.
Emergency services were called to the blaze in a two-storey duplex on Persse Road, Runcorn, about 9.45pm yesterday. Neighbours said they heard screaming and cries for help.
The man’s wife reportedly managed to get out of the burning building by jumping out of an upstairs window.
This afternoon, a Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital spokeswoman said the woman, who suffered burns to up to 20 per cent of her body, was in a stable condition and was not in the intensive care unit.
Investigators acted cautiously in their efforts to search the building, given the roof collapsed and the building was unstable.
A Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said one of the units in the duplex was well ablaze when multiple fire crews arrived on the scene, and it took almost an hour to get the fire under control.
Sky News reported the woman, believed to be aged in her 40s, escaped the blaze by jumping out a top-floor window, but a police media spokesman refused to confirm this.
The woman had burns to 20 per cent of her body, including to her legs, arms and hands, the Community Safety spokeswoman said.
She was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a serious condition.
The cause of the fire is not yet clear.
The incident follows Monday morning’s fire tragedy that killed the family of celebrity cook Matt Golinski on the Sunshine Coast.
Mr Golinski’s wife Rachel and daughters Starlia, Sage and Willow perished early on Boxing Day as fire tore through their Tewantin home about 3.30am, the cause of which is said to be non-suspicious.
Mr Golinski, a caterer and chef who appeared regularly on Network Ten’s Ready Steady Cook, is fighting for his life in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital’s intensive care unit.
He remained in a critical but stable condition this afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Relatives and friends of the family gathered on the Sunshine Coast last night to remember the “angels” lost in the horrific Boxing Day blaze.
with AAP
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