A Paddington resident who filmed the devastating fire that destroyed two houses on her street on Sunday says the second house was destroyed because there was "not enough water".
Mary-Rose MacColl and her partner David Mayocchi woke early Sunday morning on Warmington Street to see smoke billowing up from one of the houses down their street.
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Paddington blaze: 'there was no water'
Video and photographs taken by a Paddington resident document how fire crews could not get enough water to save two houses.
They ran down to find out what was going on and at 5.49am, Mr Mayocchi began filming the fire that had already engulfed number 25.
Ms MacColl said at that point the fire fighters only had one hose and they were working to control the blaze from the verandah of the house next door, number 25a.
5.49am: one hose in use from verandah of second house, one house on fire. Photo: David Mayocchi
About 5.53am, the one hose that was being used stopped and fire crews raced to connect more hoses to a water source at the top of the street at Latrobe Terrace.
"I don't know how long that took, but it was something around 10 minutes and we were all just watching as the second house caught alight," Ms MacColl said.
"Everyone was watching including the poor people who owned the house - they had come out thinking it would be saved.
"We watched in horror as the second house caught alight and burnt down because there was not enough water."
6am: Both homes were on fire. Photo: David Mayocchi
By 6.02am fire crews had enough water to target both homes that were by then fully alight.
"They had enough water and they decided a third house was at risk, so they decided to use the hoses on the left hand side of the second house to protect the third house - they did that successfully," Ms MacColl said.
6.09am: Water canon used and third house is saved. Photo: David Mayocchi
By 6.09am a water cannon was used and within minutes, the fire was extinguished.
"The water cannon started and missed, it sputtered out but soon after that it started again," Ms MacColl said.
"The water cannon was on the truck, it was a great big hose, it was a bit back from the house, probably to use the hydrant.
"This is the tragic thing, once they got the water cannon working the great big hose, the fire was out in minutes.
"In the end, they were running so many hoses up from the top of Latrobe Terrace.
"To say that the lack of water had nothing to do with it, I'm not an expert but there wasn't any water and once they had the water they put the fire out."
6.09am: The water cannon sputtered to start with. Photo: David Mayocchi
Ms MacColl said her husband had noticed there had been a leak at the top of the street near Latrobe Terrace for "weeks" before the fire and wondered if that had affected the water pressure in the area.
"David kept saying, up at the top at Latrobe Terrace there has been a leak in the water main that has been running down Ellena Street, the street on the other side, for weeks," she said.
"It may be that that is why there wasn't any water pressure."
Hoses were hooked up to water source at Latrobe Terrace to help fight the fire. Photo: David Mayocchi
Ms MacColl said the water main on Latrobe Terrace busted after the fire crews shut off the taps and Urban Utilities were called out, about 8am.
She said by mid-morning the water main was fixed and the leak down Ellena Street had stopped.
Queensland Urban Utilities spokesperson Michelle Cull said hydrant testing two days later ruled out hydrant performance as a factor in Sunday's water flow issues.
"Initial testing undertaken by Queensland Urban Utilities has confirmed the fire hydrants and water mains in the immediate area of Warmington Street, Paddington fire were performing in accordance with the Department of Energy and Water Supply's Planning Guidelines for water supply and sewerage," she said.
"We are taking these matters very seriously and are working to fully understand the situation faced by fire crews on Sunday.
"Our investigation is ongoing and we are cooperating with QFES to get to the bottom of the matter."
On Tuesday, Urban Utilities confirmed 180 Brisbane fire hydrants had failed pressure tests in the past financial year.
*This story was edited to include information regarding the repair to the busted water main at Latrobe Terrace on Sunday morning after the fire - two days before Urban Utilities conducted hydrant tests in the area.
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