A Mosgiel mobility scooter fire last month could have been arson, East Otago fire risk management officer Paul Glanville says.
Information released under the Official Information Act revealed that the fire that destroyed Mosgiel pensioner's Eleanor Moore's mobility scooter could have been deliberately lit.
Two other suspicious fires were lit in Mosgiel on the same night as the scooter blaze, he said. He did not know the circumstances behind the other fires.
Police were not investigating Mrs Moore (68) for the arson, Mr Glanville said. Burn patterns had discounted any fault with the scooter battery and charger.
''The examination determined that it was very unlikely that the scooter, or any of its components, were the point of origin of this fire ... the fire is undetermined because a lot of the evidence had been cleaned up when the scene examination was done. The fire could be an act of arson.''
Energy Safety had no record of a mobility scooter catching fire on its own, he said.
Mobility Scooters Otago owner Tony McCarthy said he inspected the burn patterns of the damaged scooter the day after the fire and users could rest assured the scooter was not the cause of the fire.
''It was just bad luck the scooter was where it was, otherwise it wouldn't have got burnt . . . the message I want to get out to the oldies is their scooters are really safe.''
