An early morning fire in a Queensland hotel is feared to have killed one of its male patrons.

Twelve people were reportedly inside the Tattersalls Club Hotel on Yandilla Street, Pittsworth when the blaze started at approximately 2.30am (AEST) on Thursday. Eleven escaped after being alerted by a fire alarm.

Firefighter Shane Rankine said the intensity of the blaze made it impossible to search for the missing man when crews first arrived.

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“It was far too dangerous for fire crews to make an internal attack, so we were in defensive mode,” Mr Rankine told the ABC.

“There is a possibility that this incident will contain a fire-related fatality.

“The extent of the fire would mean that anyone who was in the premises at that time, the survivability would be very low.”

Seven News reported that two young men walking home spotted the fire and heard people screaming. They helped get them out through the back of the hotel.

Friends of the unaccounted man reported him missing.

“He had a couple of mates staying in the hotel. They haven’t seen him, they were looking for him. That’s when they made the alert to say that he was missing,” Seven News cameraman Peter Collins told Sunrise from the scene.

Eight people were treated for minor injuries, including a firefighter for minor exhaustion and another person for cuts from a broken window, according to ambulance services.

-with AAP and ABC