A Queensland father has spoken of the devastating moment he tried and failed to save his wife and a family friend when a house fire tore through their home. He described running past his wife as the blaze took hold, an image that has haunted him since the tragedy, which claimed two lives and has left the local community in shock.

The fire broke out at a property linked to the Laver and Kingston families, killing the man's wife and a close friend who were inside at the time. Emergency services attended the scene, but the two women could not be saved, and the grieving father has since given an emotional account of the fire's speed and the desperate, unsuccessful attempt to reach his wife before it was too late.