Teenagers listen to Queen as home burns in night of arsons
KILBIRNIE ARSONS
A GROUP of teenagers sat listening to Queen and watching as a house burned across the road, a Kilbirnie resident says.
Six fires in the eastern Wellington suburb early yesterday, which destroyed three cars, a truck and a boat as well as damaging the recently renovated house, were linked to a spate of earlier breakins, police say.
Two 15-year-old boys were arrested yesterday and charged with arson.
They have also been charged with three burglaries and were held overnight before their expected appearance in the Youth Court today.
Newtown senior fire station officer Simon Johnson said it was fortunate nobody was in the Rodrigo Rd home, as it appeared the culprits were not holding back.
‘‘When we arrived the whole place was filled with smoke. The fire hadn’t damaged the structure of the building, but ... had destroyed a lot of furnishings and there was a lot of smoke damage.’’
The spate of fires kept eastern suburbs firefighters busy and left Brooklyn and Newtown vulnerable, Mr Johnson said.
‘‘We weren’t that stretched as far as personnel was concerned. But if they haven’t caught this group of people, then someone is going to get hurt.’’
A resident said a neighbour had been burgled six times in the past few weeks, had their insurance revoked and planned to move out of the area.
Another neighbour, Danny Mulheron, who lives up the street from the house that was set on fire, said he looked out of his window early yesterday and saw about four teenagers sitting across the road.
He woke after hearing sirens near Pak’n Save and watched as the group sat down on a bench and started listening to Queen.
‘‘I heard them say weird things ... and just after I heard the sirens, the kids came running up here and watched what was going on down there.’’
They left behind a schoolbag, which police had taken, he said. Six fires were set across Kilbirnie early Sunday morning, with three cars, a truck and a boat destroyed. A house on Rodrigo Rd was extensively damaged in the arson attacks.
The fires were all lit between 12.30am and 3am and concentrated around Rodrigo Rd and Duncan Tce. A truck was also burned at the bottom of the hill in Onepu Rd.
Duncan Tce resident Colin Thompson said he rushed outside and grabbed a garden hose, thinking his garage was on fire.
But after seeing a Toyota Corolla station wagon in the street in flames, he began hosing down the wheels before it went up ‘‘like a fireball’’.
‘‘I got the hose down there and there was a bit of a bang and then an almighty whoomp and the car went up. ‘‘It’s so bloody mindless.’’ The owner of the station wagon, Phoebe Mackinnon, said that although it was upsetting to have lost her car, the worst thing was feeling unsafe in her house. Two weeks ago, several cars were broken into and their handbrakes released, sending them crashing into the cars in front.
Someone had also tried to set her letterbox on fire, she said.
‘‘That’s what bugs me, because the car’s got insurance. But it’s more, I don’t know, feeling unsafe.’’
Detective Inspector Paul Basham said it was believed yesterday’s fires were connected to similar arsons and break-ins in the eastern suburbs.
They would be a focus of further inquiries this week and more charges were possible.