Barry Gibson
The Fire Service has joined the police in asking the
public to help after two more fires on Monday brought to 16 the
number of suspicious fires in Dunedin over the long weekend.
Fire Safety Officer Barry Gibson said he was closely
monitoring the situation, which was exceptionally dangerous
given the dry conditions around the city at the moment.
The fires, which were mainly in clusters, were all set in
vegetation and most, if not all, appeared to have been
deliberately lit.
The two most recent were on Monday in vegetation in Victoria
Rd near John Wilson Ocean Dr, one at 6.20am in a tree and
bush and one at 9.40pm in sand dunes, while seven were set
within a minute alongside the Southern Motorway on Friday
night.
In several callouts several fires were put out at a time.
The fires were mainly in the South Dunedin, Saddle Hill,
Sunnyvale and Fairfield areas.
"We are concerned about it, because although so far they've
been minor, they always have the potential to be quite
serious," Mr Gibson said.
Dunedin police have asked the public for any information they
had about suspicious activity in those areas.
Mr Gibson encouraged people who noticed fires to call 111 as
quickly as possible, and to take note of any vehicles in the
area, registration numbers, people, their clothing and
descriptions of them to give to police.
• Two women police allege had been defrauding motels and
restaurants around Dunedin since late December were arrested
in Geraldine at the weekend.
The pair, both aged 20, who were wanted on active charges,
are scheduled to appear in the Timaru District Court this
morning.
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