Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I hope none of our members were there. TERRIFIED backpackers hurled themselves from windows and balconies to escape a fire which erupted at their hostel in the middle of the night at Bondi in Sydney's eastern suburbs. The blaze began in a foyer bin at Noah's Bondi Beach, on Campbell Parade, around 3.45am (AEDT) today and quickly filled the building with smoke. About 150 people were evacuated from the property, with a number jumping from windows or balconies and at least one person suffering minor injuries during the fall. Four people were taken to hospital, suffering mostly from smoke inhalation. "A couple of people jumped from windows," a member of staff at the hostel said. "No-one was injured, there was some people taken away with smoke inhalation but there was nothing serious." A New South Wales Fire and Rescue spokesman added: "The building was heavily smoke-logged and a number of people were at windows. "There was obviously a great deal of concern from the occupants." The cause of the fire is suspicious and police have launched an investigation. Shelby Murphy, 20, from Seattle, told The Daily Telegraph that she jumped from a second floor balcony to escape the smoke. Another backpacker, Jack Hardy from England, told the newspaper: "Smoke filled the corridors. You couldn't see the numbers on the doors. "I woke up to the alarms going off and people banging on our door." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 There's nothing about it on Sky National News, nor Sky Sydney News, so I've put ABC news on to see if they have reported it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Suspect arrested after fire at Bondi hostel Glenda Kwek October 13, 2011 - 12:58PM Noah's Bondi Beach was engulfed with smoke after a fire. Photo: Steven Siewert Police arrested a man this morning after a suspicious fire at a Bondi Beach hostel, which forced some backpackers to jump from windows and balconies. A police spokesman said investigators were interviewing the suspect but he had not been charged. Do you know more? Message 0424 SMS SMH (+61 424 767 764) or email us with information or images. Advertisement: Story continues below Fire damage on the stairs at the hostel. Photo: Glenda Kwek The fire took place at Noah's Bondi Beach on the corner of Campbell Parade and Francis Street in Sydney's eastern suburbs about 3.45am today. It began in a bin at the hostel's front stairs and quickly filled the four-storey building with smoke. A witness told smh.com.au earlier the fire might have been started by a group of people trying to enter it. Damage to the staircase at the hostel. Photo: Glenda Kwek Jason Boub, a friend of one of the hostel employees, told smh.com.au a group of people in their mid-20s tried to enter the hostel this morning. But the doors could only be opened using a key card and the group, which he believed were drunk and not residents at the hostel, urinated on the stairs and then set a pile of cloth lying there on fire, he said. "The smoke was very heavy because of the rubber," Mr Boub said, pointing to the vinyl-covered steps. Burnt sheets at the hostel. Photo: Glenda Kwek Backpackers jumped from windows At least one person suffered minor injuries during the fall from a second-storey window, police said. Nine people were attended to by paramedics and four were taken to hospital, a NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said. View Larger Map Two were taken to the Prince of Wales Hospital and two to St Vincent's Hospital. They were all in a stable condition, the spokeswoman said. Francie Sehaaf, a 20-year-old German backpacker staying at the hostel, said she only saw smoke. "We left the hostel using the fire stairs and waited downstairs," she said. Burnt cloth At the entrance of the hostel this morning, the charred remains of a large white cloth lay beside a set of steps. A hostel employee said nothing inside the hostel caught fire and smoke from the burning cloth travelled up outside the building. "A couple of people jumped from windows. No one was injured," a hostel staff member told AAP. "There was some people taken away with smoke inhalation but there was nothing serious." The staff member said there was smoke damage to the building but the hostel was "still open for business". Superintendent Ian Krimmer of Fire and Rescue NSW said this morning there were "large amounts of smoke" from the fire at the foyer. He said 130 people in the hostel "self-evacuated" and another 20 people had to be helped out of the building by firefighters due to the thick smoke. Superintendent Krimmer said 30 firefighters from six surrounding fire stations fought the blaze and it was extinguished a short while later. The backpackers were allowed back into the building one hour later, he said. A shop owner on Campbell Parade, who asked not to be named, said that a few weeks ago someone had set fire to a newspaper at night and kicked it under the entrance door of one of his stores. But he said the fire was minor and such incidents in the area were rare. Police said the hostel fire was being treated as suspicious and anyone with information was urged to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/suspect-arrested-after-fire-at-bondi-hostel-20111013-1llw2.html#ixzz1acilJ3W7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Thank goodness no one was seriously injured, do these people not realise that fire can kill, it's not funny to start fires :mad::arghh::no: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SophieTheSoph Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Weirdly I am staying with friends a couple of doors down from this place, with an open window that backs onto the hostel and I didn't hear anything or even wake up! Normally I can hear the backpackers out on the balcony - must be getting desensitised to the screaming and whooping that usually goes on there! Glad no one was injured though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Weirdly I am staying with friends a couple of doors down from this place, with an open window that backs onto the hostel and I didn't hear anything or even wake up! Normally I can hear the backpackers out on the balcony - must be getting desensitised to the screaming and whooping that usually goes on there! Glad no one was injured though. It's either that or it's the media blowing everything out of proportion again.:chatterbox: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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