Police on hunt for group of arsonists

A CRANBROOK woman returned home to find her garage on fire yesterday after a group of young males threatened to burn the house down.

District duty officer Senior Sergeant Joe Matheson said the woman, in her 50s, found a group of six young males on her balcony when she woke at 5am yesterday.

The males, who were seated at a table on her second- storey veranda, were asked to leave but threatened to return and burn the house down.

Sen- Sgt Matheson said the woman arrived at her Louise St home about 1.20pm yesterday and saw smoke coming from behind a roller door that had been unlocked in her absence.

Emergency services arrived and it appeared offenders had broken into the house and used petrol to start five separate fires.

“A mattress and a curtain had been burnt along with smoke and water damage from the fire brigade. The floor in the kitchen area had been charred,” Sen- Sgt Matheson said.

“They’ve also stolen a wallet … along with a sum of money.”

He said it was lucky the woman returned home when she did.

“It appears that if the fires were allowed to increase in intensity, it would have only been a matter of minutes before the whole wooden structure, the old Queenslander, would have gone up in flames,” he said.

Sen- Sgt Matheson said it was concerning that young men appeared to have carried out threats. He said police were searching for the six young males who were on the woman’s balcony – four of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander appearance and two of caucasian appearance.

“They’re not known to her but they have been seen loitering in that area,” he said.

Residents near Louise St and Kalinya Court who have CCTV footage are encouraged to contact police.