23 June 2000, Childers, Australia - Early in the morning, a fire in a hostel killed 15 young travelers. Flames engulfed the Palace Backpackers' Hostel after midnight, sending dozens of guests fleeing by stair and through windows onto awnings over the street below.

Some residents could hear people knocking on doors trying to escape the inferno. Someone tried to raise an alarm when he was awoken by the sound of an explosion and broken glass.

As many as 90 people were staying there at the time . Police had recovered the bodies of 15 killed by the flames or smoke inhalation. Ten of those killed in the fire were from Britain, two from the Netherlands,one from Japan, one from Spain, one from Korea.

Fire alarms and smoke detectors had not set off. The news do not indicate about fire sprinklers. It took the fire department 4 hours to bring the blaze under control.