IF you see something suspicious, then say something.
That’s the message being spread as part of Crime Stoppers Victoria’s Bushfire Arson campaign.
Crime Stoppers Victoria executive director Peter Sprott yesterday met with police and CFA members to launch the fire prevention initiative in Bendigo.
“We don’t need to tell the residents of Bendigo the issues of bushfires and the damage it can cause,” Mr Sprott said.
“According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, the dollar damage of bushfires in Australia, on an annual basis, is in the order of $1.6 billion.
“The other concerning statistic for us is that it’s believed that between 30 and 50 per cent of bushfires are deliberately lit.
“In other words, up to half of the fires that cause so much damage, are started because of the actions of a human being – whether that be on purpose or through some reckless and foolish action.”
Mr Sprott said it was difficult for police to detect bushfire arsonists without the help of the community.
“It’s often what somebody knows in a small workplace, or a school, or in a local town that can help police to investigate a bushfire arson and arrest and charge someone if necessary,” he said.
“The other issue is bushfire arsonists have a tendency to not light one fire, they are multiple offenders.
Bendigo Fire Station operations officer Craig Brittain said it was a busy time of year for the CFA and firefighters around the state.
“On a local level we know Bendigo and district is a city, known as a city in a forest,” he said.
“We’re surrounded by a large amount of forest and outside of that we have a large amount of farming land and grazing area which currently is seen as very large risk due to the fuel loads.”
Mr Brittain said people needed to be mindful of their actions.
“We’ve seen over the last few days some reckless behaviour from individuals on high-risk days and, in particular, a grass fire started by the use of an angle grinder on a day it shouldn’t have been used.
People can report any suspicious activity confidentially by calling 1800 333 000 or visiting website Crimestoppers.com.au
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