Hoodie firebug setting bin blazes across city
A HOODED arsonist has been caught on camera lighting up commercial rubbish bins across the city’s east.
One store owner said he feared his entire business could have gone up in flames.
East Fruit Market owner Greg Holt said a young man walking home from town at 6.30am spotted the blaze as it started to run up the rear walls of the Ormond Rd business before rushing to find help.
If not for the young man, Mr Holt said the Good Friday morning fire might proved devastating.
“I woke up at 7.10am to an app giving me a notification and I zoomed in and thought gee that’s close to my shop, I better go and have a look,” he said.
“The fire had been lit right have up against the back of the building.”
“The guy has lit it up at 6am and a young bloke walking past half an hour later on his way home from town has noticed it.
“With a flat phone he’s knocked on the next-door neighbour’s door and they put it out while calling the fire brigade.
“I’m so, so lucky he saw it, it was so, so close.”
Mr Holt, whose shop backs onto Myers St, said the CCTV night vision footage showed the arsonist walking up to the bins and leaning in before set- ting multiple fires in the corners of the plastic bin.
The man, wearing a dark checkered hoodie, light-coloured pants, cap and skate shoes, then turns around and swiftly walks from the scene without even looking back.
On Saturday, fires were also started in bins near the intersection of Belmont and Corio streets in Belmont at 9.10pm and again at 9.50pm. On Sunday morning, a similar fire was lit in bins outside Premix King on St Albans Rd.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.