Police have confirmed scented candles sparked a massive unit fire in Surfers Paradise that forced dozens of residents to flee the building.
The blaze broke out in the 11th story apartment of the Equinox Sun Resort on Main Beach Parade just before 1am on Sunday when one of the candles overturned.
The unit was quickly engulfed in flames with one of the occupants managing to escape.
A male resident stayed behind to try and put the fire but got trapped on his balcony.
Shocking footage has emerged of the man risking his life by scaling onto a neighbour’s balcony to escape the inferno.
“In an emergency situation your body can do some amazing things. It would have been a real challenge,” Acting Superintendent Peter Miles told the ABC.
“They (the balconies) are fairly close together. So it wasn’t like he was having to set a new world record for long jump, but certainly with the adrenaline pumping, emergency situation he’s done particularly well to get away from those flames.”
Paramedics assessed 82 people at the scene, with four taken to hospital including the male resident who suffered minor burns.
The man’s neighbour was also taken to hospital after suffering a cut when his neighbour tried to smash his way into his apartment.
“The poor neighbor, he’s woken up to someone trying to smash into his unit with a broomstick to get away from these flames and has actually himself sustained a bit of a laceration under the chin.”
