January 15, 2013
A small explosion in an electrical switchboard at the rear of Big W sparked a fire at the Shoppingworld complex in Kingaroy this evening.
Fire crews were called to the shopping centre on the corner of Youngman and Markwell streets about 9:30pm.
Kingaroy incident controller Bruce Groer said it appeared an electrical short had led to an explosion at the rear of the Big W store.
Firefighters remained at the scene for several hours after the flames were extinguished to ensure the safety of the site.
The building was vented and tests were conducted to assess the air quality.
UPDATE January 16: Big W is closed for trading today. Big W management had no comment when contacted this morning as to when the store would re-open. All other shops in Shoppingworld are trading as usual.
