Body found after 'suspicious' house fire near Ipswich
Police were called to the Verran Street address around 5pm on Thursday with nearby residents reporting they could smell petrol at a property that was thought to be vacant.
A body has been discovered after a suspicious house fire in Bellbird Park, located west of Brisbane. The deceased is a man in his 30s, who was rushed to Ipswich Hospital with minor smoke inhalation and burns. Police were alerted to the Verran Street address around 5pm on Thursday, finding the building already engulfed in flames.
Neighbours reported smelling petrol in the vicinity prior to the fire, leading Queensland Police to classify the incident as suspicious. The exact gender of the deceased has not been disclosed. Emergency services arrived at the scene to find the house already fully consumed by the flames, with a two-story structure collapsing onto the remaining portion of the property, making it unsafe to enter.
Matthew Vanderbyl, the Assistant Commissioner for Queensland's Southern Region, stated that the house had been vacated weeks prior to the incident. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire and are treating the situation as suspicious due to the petrol odor reports. Assistance Commissioner Vanderbyl appealed for any available CCTV footage from the surrounding streets to aid their investigation.
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