Firebugs blamed for blazes

By Bridget Brady
POLICE are on the hunt for firebugs they believe deliberately lit three blazes in Cranbourne during Friday’s total fire ban.
Seven CFA crews attended three grass fires in very close proximity about 11am in already scorching weather.
Cranbourne CFA fire officer John Townsend said he believed the fires were deliberately lit because fire-fighters found a box of matches the following day near where another fire had been started.
The first fire on Friday started along the railway line at Station Street, the second opposite Lecky Street and a smaller one next to the railway crossing on Cranbourne-Narre Warren Road.
Mr Townsend said the fires, which burned out a couple of hectares of grass, were likely to have been deliberately lit because all three were suspiciously close.
“While we were at the first fire we heard that there were huge plumes of smoke opposite Lecky Street and that it was pretty dangerous, and then a passer by told us about the third one.”
Some local residents took prompt action and used garden hoses to stop the fires from spreading.
While the Cranbourne CFA responded to 11 jobs during Friday’s “awful” weather, Mr Townsend said the fires around the railway line caused the most trouble.
“The worry was that they were all in very close proximity to each other, which begs the question that someone may have been lighting them … then fire-fighters found a match box there on Saturday.
“These things don’t happen without a reason.
“It’s pretty hard for fires to start by themselves.”
The two fires on Saturday were also near the railway line and likely to have been lit by the same offenders, Mr Townsend said.
“The rest of the day was just a mess. There were a lot of smoke sightings so it was a pretty busy day for us but the boys did very well.
“It’s the fact that these people may have not just lit up one, but several that makes us unhappy.
“It really stretches our resources, especially on such a dangerous day.”
Anyone with information about the fires can contact Detective Senior Constable Mark Wiederhold or Senior Constable Luke Sorati at Cranbourne Police Station on 5991 0600.
Two other blazes threatened houses and disrupted traffic in Berwick and Endeavour Hills on Friday.
The fire in Berwick, which is believed to have been caused by a cigarette butt being thrown from a vehicle on the freeway, started on the edge of the Princes Freeway below Clyde Road at around 2.15pm, and more than 350 fire-fighters battled a blaze in Endeavour Hills for about eight hours.