Police watch over ‘known arsonists’

MICHELLE HERBISON
POLICE will crack down on arson offenders this summer as part of Operation Firesetter, according to a senior officer.
Acting Senior Sergeant Paul Robson said every division of Geelong Police would focus on “people of interest”.
Operation Firesetter would be particularly active on high-risk bushfire days, he said.
The operation was a recommendation of Victoria’s Black Saturday Bushfires Royal Commission.
“We’ll be doing proactive patrols, both high-visibility and covert, and monitoring people we might consider to be of interest in the area,” Act Sen Sgt Robson said.
Police were aware arsonists lived in the region so the force was taking a “prevention-is-better-than-cure approach,” he said.
Geelong CFA commander John Mealia said residents of bushy or grassy areas could be held responsible for bushfires if they failed to adequately clean up their properties.
“The owner of the fuel also owns the fire,” he warned.
“Just going out there, cleaning the gutters and raking some leaves can give people a false sense of being prepared.”
Mr Mealia said “serious” fires could break out even on days with low-danger ratings despite emphasis on the risks of code red periods.
The CFA system gave code reds when index ratings reached 100 for forest fires and 150 for grass fires.
Mr Mealia said weather predicted for this summer threatened a heightened grass fire risk.
But he called the predictions “normal” after years of drought, reducing summer grass growth.
“It seems unusual because we’ve had so many years of drought, so people have lost touch with the risk of grass fires.
“However, Victoria is one of the areas most prone to fire in the world. Normal can still be very, very serious.”