Father killed in suspected gas bottle explosion

A Queensland father has died after a gas bottle was suspected to have exploded in his north Brisbane home while he was working in his shed alone on Friday night. 

The man aged in his mid-fifties was described by his wife as a ‘tinkerer’ and was believed to have died while working with machinery in his shed, Senior Sergeant Jeff Lansdown said. 

Neighbours of the family who lived in Warner described the blast as like a ‘nuclear bomb going off.’        

Neighbour Ric Hartman called triple-0 call at about 5.30pm on the Friday after he suspected something had gone wrong when he felt the explosion.

‘It was like a nuclear bomb going off … it blew everything off our kitchen tables, off our nightstands — it blew the lamps off,’ he told the Courier Mail.

‘I can’t even put into words the explosion, it was like the air stopped.’

Residents in the neighbouring suburb of Bray Park said they also heard the blast.

‘A gentleman at the address was using some machinery beside his shed and an explosion had occurred as a result of him using that machinery,’ Senior Sergeant Jeff Lansdown said. 

‘The incident is quite catastrophic unfortunately, very traumatising for the family and also for all of the emergency services personnel attending.’

The man had a wife and adult children who he was living with at this address, Senior Sergeant Lansdown has said.

‘He was a really cool guy, a builder just always working. Really nice,’ a neighbour told the Courier Mail.

Investigations into the exact cause of the incident are continuing.

Police have said there are no suspicious circumstances and are treating the incident as a ‘tragic accident’.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.