A sleepy 55-year-old man smashed his way out of a mobile home before it was engulfed in flames at the four-star Alex Beach Cabins and Tourist Park in Okinja Road, Alexandra Headlands.

Paramedics stemmed the flow of blood from lacerations before rushing him by ambulance to Nambour Hospital where he was treated for shock, smoke inhalation and cuts.

A spokesman at the park told Caravanning News: "He was very lucky to escape and was very shocked."

The cabin was left a smouldering wreck and will have to be replaced. Two other mobile homes nearby were also damaged and workmen were carrying out repairs.

The spokesman assured southerners arriving for their annual winter sojourn they need have no worries. "The park is rather large and the caravanning area has not been affected," he explained. "There will be no drama with the arriving grey nomad fraternity."

The spokesman paid tribute to firefighters who, he said, had arrived in a "very timely fashion".

"They took it under control and did a great job in stopping the fire spreading," he added.

Tourists, some in their nightclothes, watched as four fire crews using high pressure hoses and an aerial appliance, desperately struggled to prevent the fierce flames spreading to cabins and caravans at the 126-site Top Tourist park.

Police said the cause of the blaze was being investigated but there were no suspicious circumstances.

They said the injured man was woken just after 1am by the smell of smoke in his cabin.

"The intensity of the blaze forced him to smash a window in order to jump to safety," a spokesperson explained. "The man was treated for smoke inhalation and lacerations from the glass but his injuries were non life-threatening."

A fire service spokesperson said the mobile home was "well alight" when fire crews arrived.

"The occupants from surrounding caravans in the immediate area were evacuated as a precaution while fire crews contained the blaze," the spokesperson added.

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