Residents in Chum Street woke to the sound of explosions on Monday morning after a car was burnt out in what police are describing as suspicious circumstances.
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A man who lives near the Golden Square laneway where the four-wheel-drive was found said the sound of the vehicle’s LPG tank exploding sounded like gunshots.
“All I heard was a bloody big loud bang, the car had been sitting there for couple of days with the bonnet up,” he said.
“Who lit it, I haven’t got a clue, I thought my house was on fire and I raced in to ring triple zero but the girl up the back had already rang them.”
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he initially tried to put the fire out himself before Country Fire Authority crews arrived shortly after 6am.
“I'd already woken up and I was going to go make a cup of tea and I thought ‘Shit, somebody’s shot someone’ – it sounded like a shotgun going off – and then another big bang,” he said.
“I raced out here in my pyjamas and seen the flame and I raced over there to pull the hose out and then the fire brigade arrived.”
Detective senior constable Jessie Uren of the Bendigo crime investigation unit said firefighters were on scene within about two minutes of the first triple zero call and by then the car was “well and truly alight”.
Senior Constable Uren said the car was believed to be a Nissan Patrol which did not have registration plates attached at the time.
She said police did not know who the vehicle belonged to but the fire was being treated as suspicious.
“Effectively neighbours have just heard a loud bang and a hissing sound coming from the LPG gas and then a short time after the car’s gone up in flames,” she said.
“We don’t know what the cause of the fire was but we do believe it was possibly suspicious.”
Senior Constable Uren said police had not established any motive for the fire but believed it was caused by “human intervention” and appealed for any witnesses to come forward.
Anyone with any information should call Senior Constable Uren at the Bendigo police station on 5448 1300 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au