A young mother-of-two is in custody and facing arson charges after a fire took hold across two rooms of a quarantine hotel in Cairns, forcing the entire building to be evacuated.
Emergency crews were called to the Cairns Pacific Hotel in far north Queensland around 7am on Sunday and arrived to find the rooms on the top level engulfed in flames, sending dense smoke billowing across the regional city.
More than 160 guests staying in 132 rooms were evacuated from the building within five minutes.
Footage captured by locals showed flames and black smoke billowing from the nine storey hotel, causing 'significant' damage.
A 31-year-old woman from Victoria who had been in hotel quarantine with her two children since Friday was taken into custody and was being questioned by police.
A Queensland Police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia charges are expected to be laid later on Sunday.
