A CFA fire investigator marks out the Glenfern Road fire site on Friday morning. Photo: Kath GannawayPOLICE and CFA investigators were back in Healesville last week after two more “suspicious” fires.
The Mail reported last week that local brigades had attended five fires within the space of a week and there were concerns that they had been deliberately lit.
Those concerns grew when on Monday 26 January Badger Creek Fire Brigade was called to a fire in scrub off Don Road in Badger Creek at 8.42pm.
On Thursday at 7.15pm, on the third consecutive total fire ban day, the fire-spotter on the Mt St Leonard observation tower in Toolangi alerted brigades to smoke coming from the township area.
Healesville Fire Brigade captain Graeme Bates said the fire was in Glenfern Road, Healesville, not far from the fire in River Street the previous Sunday.
CFA fire investigators and police from Lilydale Criminal Investigation Unit attended and the CFA investigators were back early on Friday morning to examine the scene in daylight.
While not wanting to be identified, one investigator said the series of fires was concerning.
Badger Creek CFA captain Nic Rodway said the Badger Creek fire was contained quickly, but had the potential to be much worse.
“Being at the base of Mt Toolbewong, it had the potential to develop into something, but we had weather conditions on our side and the brigade had just returned from a previous call, so the response was very quick,” he said.
Healesville CFA captain Graeme Bates said it was fortunate, so far, that the brigades had been able to stop the fires before they spread.
Both he and Captain Rodway urged residents to be extra vigilant, to report any fire immediately on “000” and to take note of any suspicious behaviour.
“Even if people take a registration number if they think something is not quite right, they don’t have to do anything with it but if they hear subsequently that there’s been a fire in the area, then they have it to pass straight on to police,” he said.
