The first firefighters to enter the fatal Loafers Lodge hostel blaze have described their narrow escape from the building shortly before a deadly flashover happened

The second day of the trial into the 2023 fire is underway with a 50-year-old man accused of five counts of murder and two of arson.

In court today firefighters described that there was zero visibility that night - and they were crawling through pitch black smoke towards an unbearable heat.

Noel Wellington, who attended the fire, says he felt it was inevitable the whole structure would explode into flames.