Melbourne man charged with lighting four fires in western suburb

A person has been charged with deliberately lighting fires as Victoria wrestles with unrelated bushfires and excessive fireplace hazard.

The 29-year-old was arrested and charged on Tuesday morning over his alleged involvement in lighting 4 fires in his western Melbourne suburb final week.

Emergency companies had been known as to 4 fires within the suburb of Tarneit between the early hours of December 19 and the night time of December 20.

Firefighters battled a grass fireplace on Homebush Drive, a fireplace at a home being constructed on Lidar Stroll, a grass fireplace on Cassina Circuit, and one other grass fireplace alongside a close-by creek mattress.

The Tarneit resident faces two counts of deliberately inflicting bushfire in addition to expenses of felony injury by fireplace and lighting a fireplace in open air throughout a interval of fireside hazard.

He’s anticipated to entrance the Melbourne Magistrates’ Courtroom on Wednesday.

The person’s home was searched on Tuesday morning.

Police are asking anybody with footage or details about the incidents to return ahead.

The person’s arrest comes as Victorian authorities proceed to struggle to extinguish a number of massive bushfires in regional areas.

The state will probably be topic to a complete fireplace ban as of Boxing Day, as temperatures are anticipated to soar into the excessive 30s.

As of Christmas morning, blazes in Victoria’s Grampians Nationwide Park are but to be contained. Greater than 44,000 hectares of land has been burnt.

Residents in neighbouring areas are nonetheless not protected to return to their properties.

18 fireplace preventing plane and 600 firefighters have been assigned to the blaze, together with officers from different states.