THE scene of a hotel fire in Townsville is still so dangerous to firefighters they’ve been forced to use cherry pickers to assess the aftermath.

The historic Victoria Park Hotel in South Townsville was burned to the ground after a devastating blaze overnight.

The scene was too dangerous for fire investigators to access at ground level today so they were assessing the scene from above.

Parts of the building collapsed during the intense fire which broke out about 12.30am today.

Photos: Victoria Park Hotel burns down media_camera Fire takes hold at the Victoria Park Hotel in South Townsville. Picture: Adam Jeremiah 1 of 20 media_camera 2 of 20 media_camera Fire takes hold at the Victoria Park Hotel in South Townsville. Picture: Adam Jeremiah 3 of 20 media_camera Fire takes hold at the Victoria Park Hotel in South Townsville. Picture: Adam Jeremiah 4 of 20 nav_small_close Want to see more?( 16 more photos in collection )Continue to full gallery nav_small_left nav_small_right

Wulguru Station Officer Brian Corrigan said the investigation could take days and it would be “much longer” before the results of any scene testing were confirmed.

The owners of the pub, Robyn and Frank Sexton, were upstairs in the pub and noticed the fire break out.

They managed to escape and minutes later their livelihood of more than 20 years was being reduced to rubble.

Townsville reacts to hotel fire Townsville reacts to hotel fire

Twenty-three firefighters, a senior officer and seven appliances were used to battle the blaze which took more than three hours to control.

Townsville police district duty officer Senior Sergeant Scot Warrick said there were “no overt signs” of anything suspicious, but investigations were continuing to rule out any foul play.

Detectives had taken charge of the investigation.

Snr-Sgt Warrick said the two owners and another person were at the pub about midnight and one of them had gone for a walk.

When they returned they noticed smoke coming from underneath a door and shortly after fire alarms went off.

By the time firefighters arrived the fire was so advanced they could do little but work to protect surrounding properties from what was an intense fire.

Realcommerical.com.au listed The Victoria Park Hotel on Boundary St as a property for sale with Colliers International and the ad listing page was last updated on April 4.

EARLIER: A historic hotel in the heart of Townsville has been completely destroyed by fire.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said the first reports the Victoria Park Hotel was ablaze were made about 12.20am overnight.

“When crews arrived they identified a large fire in the top level of the premises,” the spokesman said.

media_camera A fire rips through the Victoria Park Hotel in South Townsville. Picture: Ulyssa Leigh

Multiple crews were rushed to the scene and four fire trucks were joined by an aerial appliance with a long extension ladder to battle the blaze.

The fire was too intense for firefighters to enter the building initially, but crews were eventually able to conduct a primary search.

The QFES spokesman said all persons inside the building had been accounted for.

STREET LIGHTS MELT AS FIERCE FIRE DESTROYS PUB

HISTORY OF ICONIC TOWNSVILLE HOTEL LOST TO FIRE

PHOTOS: VICTORIA PARK HOTEL BURNS DOWN

Fire destroys historic Townsville hotel Fire destroys historic Townsville hotel

media_camera Firefighters outside the Victoria Park Hotel. Picture: Troy Townsend

The building collapsed in certain areas as crews tried to extinguish the fire overnight.

A large pile of rubble is now all that is left of the heritage-listed hotel at 266 Boundary Street, South Townsville.

About eight homes were without power in Railway Estate, Townsville City and South Townsville due to the fire. Ergon crews were working to restore supply.

A separate outage affecting about 1250 customers in Townsville at 5.30am today was not connected to the hotel fire.

BEST COUNTRY PUBS IN NORTH QUEENSLAND

7 THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN TOWNSVILLE

media_camera Fire takes hold of the Victoria Park Hotel on Boundary St, South Townsville. Picture: Ulyssa Leigh

media_camera The public bar at the Victoria Park Hotel at South Townsville which had been for sale.

GET A SAMSUNG TABLET WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO THE BULLETIN

*conditions apply

A major investigation by firefighters and police has been launched.

The hotel was designed by Tunbridge & Tunbridge and built from 1895 to 1896 by Jeremiah Dempsey.

Firefighters were this morning at the scene dampening down hot spots.

Boundary St was open to traffic.

media_camera A major investigation by firefighters and police has been launched.

media_camera The Victoria Park Hotel at South Townsville had been up for sale with an asking price of $2.5 million.

The “Queenslander-style” hotel had a main public bar, substantial covered beer garden with separate bar, manager’s accommodation and five guest rooms upstairs.

The hotel had a commercial kitchen and five poker machines.

Residents have reacted with sadness to news of the fire on social media.

Victoria Park Hotel

The Victoria Park Hotel was a heritage-listed hotel at 266 Boundary St, South Townsville built between 1895 and 1896.

The site was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on October 21, 1992

It was the second hotel constructed on the site and opened for business in 1896.

The building was designed by the Townsville architectural firm of Tunbridge and Tunbridge and built by Jeremiah Dempsey.

On October 9, 1895, the night before the licensee Jane Guthrie was to take possession of the completed hotel, it was destroyed by fire.

Construction on a second building of similar design was started on the same site in November 1895.

In bygone days, the hotel catered for working people from the wharves, railway, meatworks and foundry and sportsmen from the nearby Victoria Park.

media_camera The “Vic Park” was much-loved by locals. Picture: Heritage branch staff — State of Queensland

The hotel, locally known as the “Vic Park”, attracted a regular clientele with a strong affection for it.

The building was considered important because it demonstrated the early development of South Townsville.

In 1982, when the Licensing Commission proposed that the hotel should be demolished, there was a community outcry.

It was largely due to the efforts of the hotel’s patrons in attracting media attention and public support that the building was retained and underwent extensive repair and renovation.

As part of these renovations, the bar area was enlarged and new toilets constructed, but the general appearance and layout of the hotel remained the same.

Source