Crime scene declared at Greenslopes house fire

A crime scene has been declared as police work to determine what sparked the fire that tore through an abandoned house on a busy Brisbane road on Tuesday.

Firefighters were called to the house at the corner of Old Cleveland Road and Lilly Street in Greenslopes about 7.20am.

Russell Tobin, who owns a used-car business across the road, was getting ready to open up shop about 7am when he saw smoke pouring out of the windows of the house.

“It was pretty big, the smoke came out of the windows, then the flames started flying out,” he said.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Service spokeswoman said initially there were six crews on scene.

The house was “well involved” when crews arrived and firefighters with breathing apparatus were checking the residence, she said.

A police spokeswoman said it was believed the house was abandoned and there was no electricity connected to the property that police "were aware of".

"Police will treat it as suspicious until we can determine the cause," she said.

Police and fire investigators were expected to examine the property today.

The fire closed one lane of Old Cleveland Road and motorists were urged to avoid the area.