A boat being towed along the Bruce Highway was destroyed by fire at Black Mountain on Sunday afternoon, prompting an emergency response and traffic disruptions on one of the region’s busiest roads.
Emergency services were called to the southbound lanes of the highway shortly after 5pm following reports of a boat ablaze on a trailer.
Queensland Fire Department crews arrived to find the vessel well involved in fire after the trailer had been disconnected from the towing vehicle.
Six fire crews responded from about 5.20pm and worked to contain the blaze, which also sparked a small grass fire on the roadside.
Firefighters extinguished the grass fire by 5.30pm before bringing the boat fire under control about 15 minutes later.
Video captured by a passing motorist showed thick black smoke billowing from the burning boat as flames engulfed the vessel beside the highway.
Among those who stopped to help was an 18-year-old who was travelling behind the boat when the fire broke out.
Posting to a local Facebook group, his mother, Melanie Penman, said the teenager alerted the occupants of the towing vehicle, contacted emergency services and grabbed a fire extinguisher in an attempt to assist.
“My son was following the boat, alerted the boys driving the boat, called the fire brigade, pulled over, jumped on the boat with his fire extinguisher to help the guys out and advised four grown men to unhitch the boat so they didn’t lose the vehicle too,” she wrote on social media.
“He is only just 18 years old. Pretty proud mumma tonight for helping these guys in a very stressful situation.”
One southbound lane of the Bruce Highway was closed while emergency crews responded, causing delays for motorists travelling through the area. Traffic was later reduced to a single lane before the road was progressively reopened.
Queensland Ambulance Service crews were called to the scene at 7.11pm but no patients required assessment or treatment.
Queensland Police said the fire was not being treated as suspicious. Queensland Fire Department said it does not investigate the causes of vehicle fires.
