Blaze suspect 'wanted exit left open'

The blaze killed 15 backpackers

A man accused of starting a fire at a backpackers hostel in which 15 people died asked a British tourist to leave open a fire escape, a court has heard.

Lisa Duffy, 27, said the suspect, Robert Paul Long, had wanted to gain access to the Palace Hostel on the night of the tragedy.

She was giving testimony by telephone to Brisbane Magistrates Court. Another British backpacker told the court there had been no alarms to warn of the fatal blaze.

Mr Long arrives at court in a prison van

Mr Long, 37, is charged with arson and the murders of Australian twins, Kelly and Stacey Slarke, who died in the fire.

In total, six backpackers from Britain, four from Australia, two from the Netherlands and one each from Ireland, South Korea and Japan were killed.

Ms Duffy said that she and Mr Long had had a late night conversation on 23 June last year, the day of the fire.

Claimed to be dying

She said that Mr Long had claimed he was dying from cancer. He had also spoken of his dislike for one of the managers of the hostel, and for an Asian backpacker named Yishal, who was staying there.

News reports have said that Mr Long, a fruit picker, had been banned from the hotel. Ms Duffy said that he had claimed to have a spare set of keys.

She said that as she went to bed, Mr Long had asked her to leave a fire escape open.

"He wanted to get into the building, to beat up Yishal. He was pretty intent on getting in," she said.

Ms Duffy did not say whether or not she had left the exit open.

Magistrate Michael Halliday will decide whether to have a trial

About 90 minutes after leaving Mr Long, Ms Duffy woke up to someone banging on her door.

"When we got out of the door, everything was engulfed in flames," she said.

Anger

Fellow Briton, Tony Gora, 20, who also gave evidence by telephone, said the lack of fire alarms had contributed to the tragedy.

"I was personally quite annoyed about smoke alarms not going off because I think that's quite a factor in what happened," he said.

He said that he had worked with Mr Long and had found him unsettling.

"Rob did make himself a bit of an oddity by sleeping in the lounge."

Chair dispute

Mr Gora said he had had a confrontation with the accused when he sat in a chair Mr Long claimed was his.

He said he remembered seeing Mr Long about three hours before the fire sitting at a computer at the hostel.

Mr Long has not been required to enter a plea to the charges.

At the end of the committal hearing magistrate Michael Halliday will decide whether there is enough evidence to send Mr Long for trial.

The hearing began on Tuesday and is expected to last two weeks.