More than 60 firefighters and 20 fire trucks have worked to contain a blaze at a timber flooring factory in Sydney's west.

Emergency services were called to the fire at Claremont Avenue in Greenacre just before 3pm today.

An exclusion zone has been set up and motorists are urged to avoid the area.

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Fire and Rescue NSW Adam Dewberry said there were no reports of injuries, but due to the intensity of the blaze, it spread to adjoining businesses, the exact damage is still unknown as the fire is still smouldering.

"We have property at risk on the side and to the rear of the property," he said.

"We've had roof and some wall collapse."

"One of the complexities with this particular operation was not only the fuel loading being furniture and timber, (but also) the difficulty in getting significant water up into the fire trucks and onto the water," Dewberry said.

"Fire and Rescue New South Wales had to pump water from a distance in other streets of other big mains to get enough water on the fire."

NSW Police and NSW Ambulance paramedics were also at the scene.

People are being urged to avoid the area and keep any doors and windows closed if they live nearby.

The cause of the blaze remains unknown.

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The embattled Cairns-based Coral Adventurer cruise ship that ran aground in the South Pacific has been detained by authorities as passengers have been flown home.

The vessel hit a coral reef and became stuck off Papua New Guinea, about 30km from the city of Lae, early Saturday morning during its first trip out at sea after the death of a passenger.

None of the 80 passengers or 43 crew members were injured. 

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The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has now detained the cruise ship due to suspicion that it is unseaworthy.

"AMSA has detained the vessel in accordance with the Navigation Act 2012, based on reasonable suspicion that it is not seaworthy due to potential damage sustained during the grounding, and that it is sub‑standard as a result of failures in the implementation of its Safety Management System under the International Safety Management Code," it said in a statement.

Coral Adventurer had previously insisted that there was no indication that there was damage to the ship. 

Today, passengers are beginning their travel home to Australia via a chartered flight to Cairns.

Australian and PNG authorities have been working to re-float the cruise ship, but efforts have been unsuccessful.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating and will conduct interviews and collect evidence once appropriate.

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"In the meantime, data from the ship's voyage data recorder has been quarantined, and investigators are collecting other relevant recorded information, including ship tracking data, weather information, and crew, operator and maintenance records," the bureau said in a statement. 

The 12-night cruise, costing $13,280 per person, departed from Cairns on December 18 and reached Papua New Guinea on December 20.

It was cruising up the coastline before it ran aground on Saturday.

Coral Adventurer has faced troubled waters after the death of 80-year-old NSW tourist Suzanne Rees in October.

The cruise ship left her behind during a luxury trip to the remote Lizard Island, where she was later found dead by police.

Investigations into that event are ongoing. 

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Paramedics are pleading for an end to violence against them and other emergency service workers following a spate of verbal, physical and sexual assaults across Victoria.

Ambulance crews have reported being rammed by a car, repeatedly punched in the face, and swung at with a cricket bat, in what Ambulance Victoria says are increasing dangers.

Paramedic Luke Harrington said he was on the job on December 22 when he was ambushed by a member of the public who became violent.

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"He started striking the ambulance and then swearing at us, and then that's when he escalated, and he got right up to my face and spat on my neck," Harrington said.

Paramedics say the risk of violence on the job is so serious that they've been advised to refuse treatment to anyone who displays and such behaviour.

"It's the worst I've ever seen it in 30 years of emergency work," Ambulance Victoria Metropolitan Director of Regional and Clinical Operations Vanessa Gorman said.

"It's probably worse in regards to the severity of what is occurring."

Ambulance Victoria is now urging the public to respect frontline workers.

"We stand here united to say this is not okay and it has to stop,"  Ambulance Victoria Metropolitan Director of Regional and Clinical Operations Andrew Burns said.

"Even over the last four days whilst everyone's enjoying Christmas, our staff have endured ridiculous levels of both verbal assault through the use of revolting language and verbal intimidation, through to physical contact in both sexual assault and physical assault."

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Three people are lucky to be alive after being mauled by a dog north of Newcastle in NSW.

Neighbours said the Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross Mastiff started to run loose through a Raymond Terrace cul-de-sac at about 11pm and lunged at anyone in its path.

Paramedics arrived and led a 35-year-old man into an ambulance after he was mauled by the canine.

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Local resident Georgina Croese provided first aid to the man and his 36-year-old partner, who were savagely attacked while on a late night walk. 

"They were bleeding out, in and out of consciousness," Croese said.

"I've never seen anything like it, honestly. It was one of the worst things I've ever seen."

Josh Humphries was the first to come to the couple's rescue, armed with a metal pole.

"I had a stick to try and get rid of it but he just kept coming at me," Humphries said.

His partner's 14-year-old son Kaiden O'Dell was the next victim of the dog.

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The Year 10 student was set upon while trying to protect his family with a broomstick after the incident unfolded on their front lawn. 

"It just chased me up the stairs… just ran up and ran inside and bit me," he said.

"I grabbed its fur, tried pulling it away and mum dragged me off. It bit me on the leg too."

Police then arrived on scene and euthanised the animal.

Jess O'Dell said she was grateful her son Kaiden wasn't killed.

Reminders of the attack were still evident today from a blood trail on their driveway to the dog's claw marks on their car.  

"I actually at one point thought that maybe it could have been a lot more serious than that," Mrs O'Dell said.

"I'm very grateful that I didn't turn out like that, very grateful."

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The invasive noble false widow spider was first spotted in Porirua last year.

The Police Eagle helicopter and ambulance crews were sent to the scene.

About 10,000 Tasman homes lost power after trees brought down lines.

The man was carried out ‘taco style’ on a stretcher in heavy rain.

Residents in North Queensland are being told to prepare for life-threatening flash floods as more wild weather hits the area.

After a heavy day of rain yesterday, Townsville is forecast to receive another 140mm and Cairns could cop 100mm of rain in just one day.

Last night 7000 homes and businesses lost power across the state, predominantly in Mount Isa.

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Parts of western Queensland could suffer 300mm of rain, with multiple flood warnings put in place by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), including on the coast and in the interior.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said the state is prepared.

"I want to give people assurance that we've done a lot of work to pre-prepare for the disaster season," he said.

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"That really puts us in good stead and I am very confident about the way that we can handle events, both this one and in the future.

He also said the full impact the weather has had on farms is still unknown.

"There are certain areas that have had very large rainfall, and the impact on cattle will be determined in the days ahead," he said.

"It appears that the stock go into the event in a much better condition than they did in 2019.

"Many people will remember those images from 2019. They were harrowing.

"At this stage, it appears that the impact on stock will be far less than 2019.

"Obviously, there will be individuals that are impacted massively."

Residents in north-western Queensland, including Julia Creek and Cloncurry, are being warned the potential for flash flooding is so severe, it could be deadly.

Meteorologist Shane Kennedy said the worst of the rainfall was about to hit the state.

"We expect the bulk of the rainfall to be over the next two days… with heavy to intense rainfall across a broad area of northern Queensland.

"Around the Mount Isa region, the annual rainfall is typically around the 400mm to 500mm mark, and we're quite likely to be seeing that over just a week or two."

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The massive downpour is being caused by a monsoon trough that is set to linger over northern Queensland for several days, with strong coastal winds also contributing to heavy localised rainfall in areas such as Bowen and Cooktown.

There is the chance this flood could be record breaking, with Mission Beach already recording its biggest downpour after 360mm fell in just 24 hours.

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The weather is already causing roads to be closed, with authorities urging people not to drive in floodwaters.

"At the moment, there are 37 roads across the state that are out of action in different sections, and that shows you the impact across a large area of north and northwest Queensland," Crisafulli said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said five areas in particular would be heavily hit, and that Minister for Regional Australia Kristy McBain would meet members of the Queensland government today.

"Cloncurry, Carpenteria, Flinders, Mckinley and Richmond, are currently suffering," he said.

"There is a major flood watch on the Flinders River," he added.

The Queensland Premier urged people to use the Queensland government's official disaster website rather than Google Maps for information on road closures.

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One attendee described her day out as the ‘worst experience ever’.