Whiskey Au Go Go survivor welcomes inquest

Hunter Nicol felt the Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing before he saw it.

"I felt this almighty heat," the 66-year-old survivor says.

"I turned when I felt it, and then saw all the smoke and flames billowing. It all happened in a few seconds."

It was a Thursday night. He was 21, an off-duty constable out in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley with some friends.

They'd wanted to go to a different venue to see a popular singer but the gig was sold out.

So they'd changed plans and found themselves huddled near the dance floor of the ill-fated nightclub.

And then came a "bang".

"I had a hanky with me and I put that over my face, but I couldn't see where I was going," Mr Nicol recalls.

"I was on the point of collapse. I totally believed I was going to die."

But then, he spied a lighter patch of smoke after stumbling into the kitchen and followed it until he felt a slight reprieve from the stifling heat.

Luckily, he found a window, which allowed him to escape.

That discovery means that more than 40 years later the now retired policeman is here to see Queensland's attorney-general order a new inquest into the fatal firebombing.

"There is no doubt there is significant public interest in getting answers," Yvette D'Ath said in a statement announcing the decision.

It's a move Mr Nicol welcomes because it could finally bring closure for survivors and those linked to the deadly event, which killed 15 people.

"I think it will give a lot of people a lot of peace," he tells AAP.

Moreover, he hopes the upcoming probe will dispel some rumours and conspiracies surrounding the notorious blaze, likening the enduring speculation to the JFK assassination.

But he says any further light shed on that night can't hurt and may even reveal important details for those touched by the tragedy.

"My own gut feeling is that there is more to come out."