Fire destroyed the Amity Point general store on North Stradbroke Island overnight.
Twelve firefighters from all three North Stradbroke Island villages responded to the fire after it broke out at the Ballow Street store at about 1am.
The sound of the blaze woke several neighbours, with multiple calls made to triple-zero and a crowd of onlookers as the fire crews arrived.
North Stradbroke Island station officer Bill Ewing said the store was well ablaze by the time firefighters arrived, but the team managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the store's fuel bowsers and stock of gas cylinders.
"We're talking about huge flame heights and the entire structure was pretty well involved by the time I arrived," he said.
"It was quite confronting for the arriving crews as there was a high level of radiated heat and the fire appliances had to be parked some distance from the structure."
It took four hours to completely extinguish the fire.
Although the store was gutted, the owners' adjoining house was saved.
It's understood the owners were on the mainland at the time of the fire, though their two dogs were rescued from the house by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage, with a Fire Investigation Unit team and police officers from both Dunwich and Cleveland CIB investigating.
A side street was cordoned off as a precautionary measure after asbestos fibres were scattered on the road.
Mr Ewing praised the efforts of all firefighters on the scene.
"They worked sensationally, they worked very professionally and safely to make sure that the home was kept intact," he said.
"The residents said their business can be rebuilt, but we managed to save all of their family photos and possessions and that was all they cared about.
"Every member of this crew did such a great job."
The store is the second business destroyed by fire on North Stradbroke Island this month after the Dunwich laundromat was razed on October 8.
