Two individuals have sustained serious injuries following a significant fire at a Canberra social housing complex on Monday morning. The blaze erupted in a first-floor unit at Havelock House, located on the corner of Gould Street and Northbourne Avenue in the inner-north suburb of Turner.
Emergency Response and Evacuation
ACT Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched to the scene after the alarm was raised on the morning of Monday, January 5, 2026. The Emergency Services Agency confirmed that one person was transported to hospital with serious injuries. A second person was treated for burns at the scene and is also believed to have been taken to hospital for further care.
The two injured people are understood to be a man and a woman who were known to each other but were not in a relationship. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation and is not yet known.
Scene Secured as Residents Account for Morning Chaos
Kylie Maidens, the Chief Executive of Havelock Housing, described the moment staff realised the alarm was not a false alarm. "We came to work this morning, the alarm went off," Ms Maidens said. "Generally it's always a false alarm but my staff went up and looked, and it was an active fire, and we just followed process and got them all out."
The fire originated in a unit designated for men, which housed eight residents at the time. However, the entire complex was evacuated as a safety precaution. Havelock House contains 21 units that provide accommodation for 103 people. The complex offers affordable, social, and specialist disability housing for those in need across the ACT and Southern NSW region.
"The units are anywhere between four and nine rooms, and we have a mixture of men, women, and transgender, non-binary folk in units," Ms Maidens explained.
Community Impact and Ongoing Aftermath
By mid-morning, several fire service vehicles remained on site, and the distinct smell of smoke lingered in the air around the complex. The incident has disrupted the lives of over one hundred residents, many of whom rely on the supported accommodation services provided at Havelock House.
The focus for authorities now shifts to supporting the injured, assisting displaced residents, and determining the origin of the fire. The building will need to be assessed for safety before residents can return to their homes. This fire highlights the vulnerabilities within community housing and the critical role of emergency response protocols in safeguarding residents during such crises.
