Gatton's historic Imperial Hotel destroyed by huge blaze

Gatton’s historic Imperial Hotel has been destroyed by a fire that ripped through the south-east Queensland pub overnight.

Fire crews were called to the blaze on Gatton’s main street, Railway Street, just before 1am.

“We called Triple Zero as we saw the fire and they were very quick to get here, only a couple of minutes, but it was well and truly on its way,” witness Krystal Raddatz told 9NEWS.

Thirty-six firefighters and 11 trucks fought to stop the blaze from spreading to nearby buildings.

The heat from the fire caused part of one of the trucks to melt.

“It has suffered a little bit of heat damage,” a Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) firefighter said.

Some crews were called in from the larger towns of Ipswich and Toowoomba.

The hotel had closed in 2013 and its new owner is believed to have been planning a $1.7m renovation to turn it into a backpackers’ hostel and boost the town’s economy.

The owner told 9NEWS his insurance expired two months ago.

An injunction had been issued earlier this year after authorities found the property presented a serious fire risk.

Two adjoining buildings – Supercheap Auto and a building being renovated into a gym – were also damaged.

Today was “a sad day for Gatton’s history”, one of the owners of the Supercheap building, Andrew O’Brien, told 9news.com.au.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.