Arsonists start six fires in Orange in one day

Canobolas Local Area Command’s crime manager Detective acting Inspector Yonneka Hill said on Tuesday, there were two bin fires, a car and house destroyed by fire and two grass fires.

“Over the last few weeks there’s been an increase in small fires reported in the Orange CBD as well as the suburb of Glenroi,” Inspector Hill said.

“We do have certain information that there may be groups of young persons that could be involved in lighting some of these fires recently.

“We are in the process of gathering CCTV footage to identify potential suspects or witnesses that may be able to assist with those investigations.

“This is an attempt to identify any suspects and any potential witnesses that may be able to help with those investigations.”

Inspector Hill did not believe there was a link between the fires but did not rule it out.

“We don’t want any further damage to property or any loss of human life,” she said.

“During this time of year we have been experiencing some extreme heat and windy weather as well, so that does have the potential for fires to spread quite quickly and cause significant damage.

“If anyone does see anyone acting suspiciously and loitering in certain areas, and doing things that they believe is out of character for that area, we encourage you to call and ring us straight away so that we can respond quickly.”

Those six fires on Tuesday are nearly triple the average number of callouts for Fire and Rescue NSW in Orange.

Fire and Rescue NSW duty commander acting Inspector Steve Evans said firefighters were concerned about the resources tied up by arsonists.

“There has been an increase in small fires and this is a worry to us,” Inspector Evans said.

“Small fires can spread, some people don’t understand fire dynamics and as you can see in the bakery fire, the small fire has spread and we’ve had a loss of a building in Orange.

“Unfortunately, we sometimes have a loss of life from this and [fires] can move from house to house via the closeness of the housing or the bush in between.”

Inspector Evans said older houses catching fire presented an extra risk to residents and emergency services personnel with asbestos potentially present.

“With the circumstances of the fire, we have to send firefighters inside the building, which is a risk to the firefighters,” he said.

Inspector Hill said community members could report information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.