September 19, 2017
The Taromeo Rural Fire Brigade is appealing for public help to catch an arsonist they believe is responsible for a recent spate of bushfires in the Taromeo area.
The appeal was issued after the brigade’s volunteers were called to fight outbreaks in the “Blackbutt Paddock” for the fourth weekend in a row on Saturday.
The paddock is a heavily timbered, 560 hectare area bounded by Franks Road, Cameron Road and Old Esk Road in Blackbutt North.
Taromeo RFB First Officer Les Lane said some of the fires the brigade had been called to attend were very serious and took a lot of effort to extinguish.
Because the area is so heavily timbered, volunteer firefighters have difficulty accessing the site and have had to use machinery to reach some blazes.
Last Saturday was the worst, when about 10 fires were lit in the paddock area.
Les said in his experience, fires on weekends were not common and multiple fire outbreaks were even rarer.
To make the situation even more worrying, the area is facing a potentially bad bushfire season due to a lack of winter rainfall.
Les asked the public to report anyone seen behaving suspiciously in the paddock area to Blackbutt police on (07) 4163-0211 or Crime Stoppers on 1800-333-000.
People whose lives or property are put at risk by bushfires should call Triple-0 (000).
