Man charged with arson and stealing after fire destroys PCYC building
Police were still at the scene at 6am today. (ABC Southern Qld: Grace Nakamura)
In short:
A 28-year-old man has been charged with one count each of arson, stealing, and unlawful enter premises with intent, and two counts of unlawful enter premises and commit after the Toowoomba PCYC was destroyed by fire.
Emergency crews were called to the scene at 1:30am.
What's next?
The man is due to appear in the Toowoomba Magistrates court on March 20.
A man has been charged with stealing, arson and multiple other offences after a fire destroyed Toowoomba's Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) overnight.
The 28-year-old was refused police bail and is due to appear in Toowoomba Magistrates Court tomorrow, Friday March 20.
Queensland Ambulance staff passed the building on James St at 1:30am and alerted other emergency services.
The building was fully engulfed in flames.
The Toowoomba PCYC building has existed since 1969. (ABC Southern Qld: Grace Nakamura)
It took firefighters until 4am to get the blaze under control.
The building was not occupied at the time, and no injuries have been reported.
Toowoomba District Acting Inspector Craig Berry said police are treating it as an isolated event.
"There are no linkages to any other significant events of a similar nature in the area," Act. Insp. Berry said.
Act. Insp. Berry said the Queensland Police Service is working with the Toowoomba Regional Council to identify any relevant CCTV footage.
"We are appealing for public assistance regarding identifying any incidents which may be out of the ordinary around the PCYC location … in the early hours of this morning," he said.
Loss for PCYC
PCYC Queensland CEO Philip Schultz said he received a phone call just after 2am.
Philip Schultz says it could cost up to $20 million to replace the facility. (ABC Southern Qld: Grace Nakamura)
"I arrived on scene just after daylight to find total devastation and a complete loss of building," Mr Schultz said.
"My first thought went to the young people who use the facility and the Toowoomba community who have used the facility since 1969."
Mr Schultz himself learned to box at the Toowoomba PCYC facility as a teenager.
"We have hundreds of people come through here to get a licence, do gymnastics, or attend our after-dark and drop-in programs."
A man is assisting police with their investigations into the suspicious fire at the Toowoomba PCYC. (ABC Southern Qld: Grace Nakamura)
All the equipment inside, including the gymnastics facilities, was destroyed.
Mr Schultz said it could cost up to $20 million to replace the facility.
He said PCYC Queensland would be looking at "all options" to remain in the community.
Flames 'higher than trees'
Toowoomba resident John Osbourne said the explosion woke him up.
"It was almost like a popping sound, it wasn't loud," Mr Osbourne told ABC Southern Qld Breakfast.
Police have taped off the site and are investigating the fire as suspicious. (ABC Southern Qld: Grace Nakamura)
"Only a couple [of] minutes after, there were a series of three pops, that got me out of bed."
He said it had been a long time since he had seen a fire that big in Toowoomba.
"The flames were way higher than the street trees,"Mr Osbourne said.
Fire crews arrived at the scene at 1:30 am. (ABC Southern Qld: Grace Nakamura)
Queensland Fire Department (QFD) acting superintendent Kent Barron said it was 'big job overnight".
"We had nine crews and nearly 30 firefighters on scene, including an aerial appliance just to try and keep this fire at bay," he said.
"It was a dangerous scenario that we kept a really close eye on."
Volunteers devastated
Maureen Allen volunteered at the Toowoomba PCYC's Break the Cycle program to help teenagers obtain their driver's licences.
"They do wonderful school programs, and there's so much they do behind the scenes," Ms Allen said.
"[It's] just sad all the equipment is gone. It will put a big hole in a lot of people's lives, both young and older."
The cause of the fire is still unknown.