Shane Fitzsimmons of the Rural Fire Service says evidence suggests fire that destroyed more than 2,500 hectares was deliberately lit

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The New South Wales rural fire chief has described the suspected deliberate starting of the Holsworthy fire as “sickening and reprehensible”, while urging residents in south-western suburbs of Sydney to remain vigilant despite easing conditions.

Police have set up a strike force to investigate the bushfire that tore through vast areas of bushland and threatened homes on the weekend.

The strong winds that fanned the fire on Sunday eased on Monday, allowing authorities to downgrade the alert level to “advice” and tell residents it was safe to return home.

Wind gusts had reached up to 70km/h on Sunday, and dry conditions combined with “unprecedented” early autumn temperatures to create a high-risk environment.

Firefighters worked through the night, conducting tactical back-burning, particularly around the fire’s northern and south-western fronts, and patrolling streets for flare-ups and floating embers. Resources were scaled down significantly from about 500 firefighters on Sunday to about 250 on Monday.

The fire was still not contained on Monday morning, and authorities were urging residents to remain vigilant, particularly with winds forecast to pick up again on Monday afternoon.

The Rural Fire Service assistant commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, said evidence suggested the fire was deliberately lit.

Firefighters tackle bushfire in Sydney's south-west – pictures Read more

“It is sickening and reprehensible,” Fitzsimmons said. “How dare anyone in society think that they can deliberately light a fire, endangering first and foremost all of these men and women, the vast majority of whom are volunteers, putting their lives on the line to bring these fires under control.”

The fire is thought to have started near Leacocks reserve in Casula, and had spread over 2,500 hectares by late Sunday.

NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) Easing Conditions have seen the Morebank Ave Fire downgraded to Advice. Residents in fire effected areas should continue to be vigilant and monitor conditions #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/u55gUH6SXq

Detectives believe several spot fires began in the Leacock Reserve area on Friday night, and have looked at CCTV footage in the area.

The bushfire flared up about 2.30pm the next day in the same location.

“The area where we believe the fire commenced has been forensically examined,” Acting Superintendent Paul Albury told reporters on Monday.

“We have taken a number of statements from people who called the police and fire services in regards to the fire.”

Conditions were particularly dry, and there had been very little rain, Fitzsimmons said. The dry spell had combined with what Fitzsimmons said were “unprecedented” autumn temperatures.



“We do see fires all throughout the year, but we don’t see them to the sort of magnitude we have seen in the last couple of days here in south-west Sydney,” Fitzsimmons said.

There were initial fears about the scale of damage to property, particularly to homes in west Menai and Barden Ridge.

But Fitzsimmons said no homes had been lost and the damage had been relatively minor. There were reports of damage to fences, a cubbyhouse and gardens, he said.

The result was described as “extraordinary”.



Residents of Voyager Point, Pleasure Point, Sandy Point, Illawong, Menai and Bangor had been warned of the danger of ember attacks as many scrambled with hoses and buckets to protect their houses.



NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) Moorebank Avenue, #Holsworthy Fire: Latest Linescan taken at about 4:10pm showing current fire activity. Brighter areas are more intense fire. #NSWRFS #nswfires pic.twitter.com/R0CbCdHymG

By 5pm on Sunday, some Menai residents were starting to relax.

Daniel Borg, who lives on Hall Drive in Menai alongside bushland, admitted it was concerning to see how close the flames came. “It was pretty scary,” he said when finally opening a beer, thankful his house came with sprinklers on the roof.

Firefighters took advantage of the conditions to do a back burn along Heathcote Road near Pleasure Point as well as in areas of the Holsworthy military base.



Fitzsimmons said the fire was not thought to have started on defence land.

On Monday the fire was continuing to burn in a south-easterly direction towards Barden Ridge.

The NSW government has also indicated it will investigate why trains were allowed to continue running past the fire ground while it was active.</s>Sydney, April 15 (IANS) Over 500 firefighters responded on Sunday to a massive bushfire posing a serious threat to two residential neighbourhoods in Australia’s most populated city of Sydney as the authorities declared a state of emergency.

An unspecified number of Menai and Barden Ridge residents left their homes after New South Wales authorities declared a state of emergency as almost 100 firefighting trucks and 15 aircraft continued fighting back the blaze, Efe news agency reported.

According to a Fire and Rescue NSW official Twitter account statement: “Moorebank Avenue, #Holsworthy Fire: Due to easing (wind) conditions the fire has been downgraded to Watch & Act. Large numbers of firefighters will continue to work into the night to bring the fire under control.”

Police are now investigating the possible causes of the fire, which seemed under control on Saturday night but surged again early on Sunday.

The blaze has burnt some 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) of land and the full extent of damages is yet unknown.

Recent scientific studies warned of a possible increased risk of forest fires in Australia due to extreme heat waves and higher carbon dioxide emissions.

Forest fire seasons vary a lot in Australia depending on the region and meteorological conditions.

In the case of New South Wales and its capital Sydney, the bushfire season happens during the Austral spring and summer.

Australia’s worst fire incident in decades occurred in February 2009 in Victoria (Southeast) that devastated an area of 4,500 sq km and left 173 dead and 414 injured.</s>Hundreds of Australian firefighters are tackling a large bushfire that has reportedly affected homes homes in the southern suburbs of Sydney.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) said it was concerned that flying embers could spark new blazes ahead of the advancing fire front.

Some residents have been instructed to seek shelter as evacuation is now too dangerous.

Recent weather in south-eastern Australia has been unseasonably hot.

Shane Fitzsimmons from the RFS said the fire was behaving "very aggressively".
• How Australia's extreme heat might be here to stay
• The deadly threat of hot weather and bushfires

Strong winds have been pushing the flames north and east towards suburban areas.

Passengers on a suburban train have filmed dramatic scenes as the railway took them through the burning countryside, surrounded by thick smoke and flying embers.

The fire has burned nearly 2,500 hectares of land, the RFS said.

More than 70 fire appliances were stationed along roads dividing bushland from homes while helicopters were dumping water on the fire from above, SBS reported.

"It is unseasonably hot and that's a matter of obviously great concern, but we have to deal with the worst that Mother Nature can throw at us and the worse Australians are presented with by nature, the better it brings out the Australian spirit," he said.

New South Wales police have declared the area a crime scene but the RFS says it is too early to know if the fire was started deliberately, SBS reported.</s>A Sydney bushfire was still out of control on Monday despite a downgraded threat level, Australia's New South Wales Rural Fire Service said.

The fire has burnt more than 2,430 hectares since Saturday afternoon and is being treated as suspicious.</s>A large plume of smoke rose from a bushfire burning in Richmond Vale, New South Wales, on Wednesday, September 13.This aerial footage from New South Wales Rural Fire Service shows the scene.Authorities on Wednesday issued an emergency warning for the area, saying the blaze was out of control and spreading eastward. Firefighters and water bombing aircraft were deployed to fight the wildfire, one of over 70 burning in the state, NSW Rural Fire Service reported. Credit: New South Wales Rural Fire Service via Storyful</s>A major fire is raging for the second day in the state of New South Wales. According to reports, bushfires are coming close to the southwestern suburbs of Australia's largest city Sydney.

READ MORE: WATCH Children Escaping Deadly Fire in Dance Studio in New Jersey

A train driving through Sydney's bushfire was caught on camera. Later, Australian Transport Minister Andrew Constance demanded that safety investigators conduct a review of the train that operated very close to the bushfire.

Sydney #Holsworthy Fire smoke as seen by today by Himawari-8 satellite, grabbed from RAMMB slider #nswfires its the left to right plume, the diagonal moving stuff is high cloud off the ranges I think, the different movement is due to different winds higher up. pic.twitter.com/53UPyDbKSc — YouStorm (@YouStormorg) 15 апреля 2018 г.​

Australia: An emergency warning was reissued for an out-of-control bushfire that is raging across parts of the Australian city of Sydney. According to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, 500 firefighters are trying to control the blaze that started on Saturday. 15-04-2018 pic.twitter.com/XYXhMMtjzn — Rowan Van Dijk (@Lastkombo) 15 апреля 2018 г.​

Residents in Holsworthy, Voyager Point, Pleasure Point and Sandy Point should seek shelter from the heat of the fire as "it is too late to leave", the #NSWRFS advises. #NSWFIRES #9News pic.twitter.com/8aYPV7nlwZ — Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) 15 апреля 2018 г.</s>A bushfire in the south-eastern Australian state of New South Wales could affect Sydney's suburbs, authorities say.

Local firefighters said the fire was advancing and was behaving "very aggressively".</s>More than 140 firefighters battled a fast-moving bushfire in Wattle Grove, southwest of Sydney on April 14.The New South Wales Rural Fire Service warned residents in the area to “shelter in place” as it was too late to leave.A New South Wales Rural Fire Service spokesperson said that there were no reports of homes being destroyed or fatalities, ABC reported. Credit: fictillius via Storyful</s>Motorists drive through smoke caused by bushfires on the M5 in Sydney, Australia April 16, 2018. — Reuters pic SYDNEY, April 16 — Hundreds of firefighters were today battling a large bushfire that was raging near Sydney suburbs, with authorities saying it was “miraculous” no houses had been damaged and no-one had been injured.

New South Wales state police are investigating the cause of the bushfire in south-western Sydney, which started on Saturday afternoon amid unseasonably warm autumn weather and strong winds, with suspicions it was deliberately lit.

The blaze has burnt through more than 2,430 hectares so far, with some locals evacuated from their homes.

Despite the fire's size and its proximity to several suburbs, with some locals evacuated from their homes, no properties were known to be lost, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said.

“It is absolutely miraculous that we have not lost any lives and virtually no property and this is because of the hard work and dedication and heroism of our fire services,” the state's acting Emergency Services Minister Mark Speakman told reporters today.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the only damage reports were of fences and a children's playhouse caught in the fire's advance.

Conditions had improved today as winds eased, with firefighters working to slow the spread of the flames. They also conducted controlled burns overnight to clear land that could be combustible.

Fitzsimmons said it would be “sickening and reprehensible” if the fire was discovered to have been arson.

He added that a variety of conditions, including a dry summer, contributed to the magnitude of the blaze.

“When you add on to that the unseasonably hot couple of weeks we came into autumn and into the month of April, we were talking about temperatures well and truly in the 30s (degrees Celsius), which were unprecedented,” Fitzsimmons said. — AFP</s>Over 500 firefighters responded Sunday to a massive bushfire posing a serious threat to two residential neighborhoods in South Sydney, Australia's most populated city, whose cause has yet to be determined.

An unspecified number of Menai and Barden Ridge residents left their homes after New South Wales authorities declared a state of emergency as almost 100 firefighting trucks and 15 aircraft, continued fighting back the blaze.
A state of emergency is declared in New South Wales, Australia, as a bushfire continues to burn out of control. More than 500 personnel from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW and the Australian Defence Force are tackling the bushfire, which has torn through the Holsworthy Barracks and threatens the suburbs of Sydney.