Queensland police have confirmed a man and a woman are feared dead, after a fire destroyed a townhouse in Browns Plains on Brisbane's southside on Monday morning.
Chief Superintendent Brian Swan said police had attempted to make contact with the pair and their families, and believe both 49-year-olds were inside the "extensively damaged" building.
He said the pair were previously in a relationship and a domestic violence order was issued by the Beenleigh Magistrates Court in recent weeks.
"I'm not able to provide details, but a temporary protection was ordered in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on the 9th of February," he said.
"We're treating it as suspicious until we can prove otherwise.
"It's an absolutely awful situation and we hope for the best but our fears are someone may have lost their life, and that's a terrible thing."
Police said the 49-year-old woman resided in the unit.
Property listings for the secure complex said it had 24-hour video surveillance.
Officers said preliminary investigations indicated the fire was deliberately lit and a crime scene had been established.
A silver ute, believed to belong to the man, was towed from a nearby shopping centre and a second crime scene has been established.
Emergency services were called to Myola Street about 4:00am, where it took fire crews 30 minutes to contain the blaze.
A neighbour, Hannah McCormack, who lives down the street, said she was woken up to the sound of screams for help.
"Then I heard glass crackling like [it was being] broken. I woke up my partner because I thought somebody was breaking in," she said.
"He looked outside and he saw the flames of the house fire and called triple-0.
"Not long after that, everyone was out of their houses."
She said she had not known the woman who lived in the unit well, though people in the closed estate were friendly with each other.
"It actually is pretty scary especially when you hear the screams — she was screaming out," she said.
"We're pretty close as a community, we're a big family and everyone talks to each other, so it was pretty terrifying."
Police and fire investigators remain at the address.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact police.
