Gladstone house fire kills three woman and two children, police establish crime scene

The bodies of a woman and two children have been found in the remains of a house that burned to the ground in central Queensland.

Paramedics did not treat anyone at the scene, in the Gladstone suburb of Toolooa, with emergency services called to the Whiting Street house just before 6am.

Five fire crews arrived at the scene shortly after, where they found the house engulfed by flames.

The top storey of the home collapsed, hampering firefighters’ attempts to search the house before the blaze was extinguished about 9am.

The bodies of a woman and two girls were later found in the charred remains of the property.

A crime scene has been declared and an investigator from the Queensland Fire Department will work with police to determine the cause of the blaze.

“Obviously it is a tragic event