Part of Gold Coast history has gone up in flames. A Nerang mansion, originally built by prominent local developer Arthur Earle, was destroyed in the blaze. There were initial fears someone may have been trapped inside.

Jakob Funk reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Up in smoke, an abandoned Nerang home burning in the early hours of the morning.

Fire fighters were called at around 1:30 arriving to find the mansion already engulfed in flames.

Senior Sergeant Peter Venz, Gold Coast Police: “They’ve been working throughout the night, multiple crews on the house to get this fire extinguished.”

With the large house such a long way from the road, it took crews longer than expected to bring the blaze under control.

Firefighters had difficulty accessing water, with the nearest fire hydrant 100 metres away.

This allowed the fire to burn for several hours.

Senior Sergeant Peter Venz, Gold Coast Police: “Access to water was an issue, it’s a very long driveway down to this property.”

There were fears someone may have been trapped inside, as flames stopped firefighters from reaching the second level.

The building has reportedly been abandoned for years.

Senior Sergeant Peter Venz, Gold Coast Police: “Being that there appears to be squatters in the place, the concern is that there may still be some people upstairs.”

So far it’s unclear how the blaze started.

Senior Sergeant Peter Venz, Gold Coast Police: “At this stage, it’s being treated as a crime scene until we determine what’s caused the fire.”

Fire Investigators have been at the scene and police would like anyone with information to come forward.

Jakob Funk, QUT News.