A 55-year-old man has died after an apartment complex in Clayfield in Brisbane was evacuated due to a serious fire early on Monday morning.
Residents of the Bonney Avenue building were evacuated about 5am as firefighters battled a blaze that broke out on the fourth or fifth floor — believed to be around the lift.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went through the building clearing each floor, with 12 people rescued and treated by paramedics.
Three people were taken to hospital in a stable condition and were treated for smoke inhalation.
Queensland ambulance said there were a number of elderly residents in the complex.
"They have been so resilient through this whole process, and their families will be taking care of them now," QAS operational supervisor Georgia Gascoigne said.
Police are treating the death of a man at the scene as non-suspicious and are investigating if the fire was deliberately lit.
Resident Dave Francis was taking refuge in a nearby church until authorities deemed the building safe to return to.
He described his confusion when firefighters woke him up and asked him to leave urgently.
"When I was woken up I thought I was on a movie set, and there were aliens from outer space waking me up, because I sleep pretty heavily."
He said they told him: "Quickly, come on, we've got to get you out of the building."
Mr Francis was in good spirits and said the paramedics had been "absolutely wonderful".
Queensland Fire and Emergency services said at 6:30am the fire was under control, but smoke may continue to affect the surrounding area.
