A WOMAN'S death in a Brisbane house fire today should remind Queenslanders not to wait for new laws before installing smoke alarms, the state government has warned.Emergency Services Minister Pat Purcell said the deaths of three people in Brisbane house fires in the past two weeks may have been prevented if their homes had had smoke alarms. The body of a 25-year-old woman was found on the the top level of a burnt-out two-storey townhouse in Morningside, in the city's east, about 5.40am (AEST) today.

Last week, a couple perished in a house fire at Sunnybank on the city's southside.

"Neither homes had smoke alarms and the message is simple – smoke alarms save lives," Mr Purcell said.

More than 80 per cent of all home fire deaths in the past year occurred in houses and units without smoke alarms, Mr Purcell said.

New fire safety legislation will make the alarms compulsory for all Queensland homes from July 1 next year, he said.The woman's death this morning was not suspicious. A cigarette butt is believed to have started the blaze, a Queensland Fire and Rescue (QFR) spokesman said.

A man, believed to be in his 20s, who was in the same room as the woman during the fire, is in a critical condition in hospital, he said.

Another man, also believed to be in his 20s, was in the townhouse during the fire and was unharmed, the QFR spokesman said.

"The fire is believed to have started downstairs," he said.

The townhouse was well alight when fire crews arrived and was severely damaged by the blaze, he said.

"The crews have only just left the scene and investigations are continuing into the cause of the fire but it is not believed to be suspicious," he said.

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Thank you for the kind words, and I hope so :)

Brian

5.14.2006