By Brendan Rees
The owner of a Cranbourne towing centre has said he was not “totally surprised” after a fire broke out in his garage during the early morning of Tuesday 30 October.
Fire crews from Cranbourne, Narre Warren, Frankston and Hallam brigades were called to the blaze on Cameron Street about 4.40am which was brought under control just after 5am.
Police say the exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined and arson chemist investigators were examining the scene at Squires Towing Centre.
Manager Stewart Squires said he was “certainly expecting” the fire to occur as he believes a recovered stolen car in the shed was “targeted.”
“I wasn’t totally surprised,” he said. “We’ve had cars re-stolen out of here; one other time in our old place we had a couple stolen out of there. It’s not really that new to me.
“We deal with this sort of thing all the time because of the nature of the work,” Mr Squires said.
According to Mr Squires, intruders had gain access via a rear roller door with the fire mainly confined to the shed.
“No idea how it was lit…We haven’t looked at any footage yet because we haven’t had any power back on.”
He said one car and a few motorbikes as well as some wiring conduit were burnt “otherwise it’s less damage than what I thought initially.”
Mr Squires had no idea of the damage bill at this stage but added it was “more of a cleaning up thing.”
“Not a terrible shock. When you’ve had a few things happen like this you become a little bit hardened to it.
“It’s more annoying than anything,” he said.
CFA issued a safety advice at the time for residents warning of poor air quality.
Police are investigating. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
