Gold Coast Q1 Tower evacuated after fire eruption
Fire breaks out at Australia’s tallest building – a massive 78-storey apartment building on the Gold Coast – and hundreds of residents evacuated
- Fire in the Q1 high-rise causes chaos
- Hundreds of residents evacuated
- Patients treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries
A fire has broken out at Australia’s tallest building, causing chaotic scenes on the Gold Coast.
Emergency services rushed to the Q1 tower on Hamilton Avenue in Surfers Paradise around 7am Monday after reports of a fire.
Footage showed smoke rising from the top of a high-rise.
Hundreds of residents were evacuated with reports that people were also trapped in the building’s elevator.
Some residents, including the elderly, climbed more than 60 flights of stairs to escape, while others remained on high floors in the building.
The fire is believed to have started in a rubbish bin chute and has since been extinguished.
Paramedics treated a number of people at the scene, including a young boy who broke his arm falling down the fire escape.
At least 13 patients were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation.
Several streets in Surfers Paradise remain closed after a fire at the Q1 high-rise
Paramedics are on site to help evacuate and treat residents still in the building.
“There are few patients who are smoke inhaled, we have a young gentleman with an arm injury as a result of the evacuation, he fell into the fire escape and at the moment we are working with fire to carry out further evacuations,” a paramedic told Sunrise .
Emergency services arrived at chaotic scenes.
“It’s still quite chaotic here,” acting senior sergeant of the Queensland Police Force, Michael Bradley, told the program.
“We ask the public to stay clear of Q1 as a number of streets are currently closed.”
“Everyone is safe, the fire is out, it’s just a matter of clearing the smoke.”
Firefighters are urging residents still in the building to stay in their apartments and keep doors closed, turn off air conditioning and open windows.
Young children and pets were among the hundreds evacuated.
Travelers fled the building while holding onto their beloved pets (pictured)
One resident said one of the fire escapes was completely blocked by smoke and had to use a second one.
“I opened my door and smelled the smoke and headed out,” the man told The Gold Coast Bulletin.
“I’m on level 21, everyone was running down. I took the cat and left.’
“At level 48 or so you couldn’t see anything apparently because the smoke was so thick.”
Another told Nine News: “We woke up and there was terrible smoke in the hallway,” said one evacuee.
“We passed a few people on the stairs and they were in really bad shape to the extent that they couldn’t move.
“So when we got down we went to the fire and let them know there were a few people trapped upstairs. It was a bit of a shock.’
The evacuees included families and young children (pictured)
It is clear that the fire did not cause any structural damage.
“As of 07:40 the fire was out, but there are several floors of smoke,” a Queensland fire and emergency services spokeswoman said.
“Crews are currently ventilating every floor and evacuating people there as well.”
It is not yet known when residents will be able to return to the building.
Hamilton Avenue, Clifford Street and Surfers Paradise Boulevard remain closed.
Everyone in the area is asked to follow the directions of the police.
Opened in 2005, the 322.5-meter skyscraper was the tallest residential building in the world until 2011.