Police seek witnesses after suspected serial arsonist hits City Hill a third time

Detailed summary

The alleged arsonist attacked again on Friday, November 13.

After police investigated two alleged arson attempts on Wednesday night, a third fire was lit at the same location last night, on Friday, November 13.

Police and ACT Fire & Rescue crews responded to reports that two trees were on fire on City Hill in Civic at about midnight on Wednesday, November 12. Police said that once the fires were contained, another fire was lit on City Hill, the same night.

The fire was visible across Civic, with some around Vernon Circle reporting a smell of smoke. Suspecting an arson attack, police have launched an investigation into the fires.

The same attacker may have struck again, as more trees were allegedly set alight on Friday night.

A nearby resident, who witnessed each alleged arson attack from her apartment building in Civic, told The Canberra Times that the first fire on Friday night was set on fire at about 9:40pm, with another visibly alight by 9:46pm.

"The fires were large enough for us to see all of them very clearly," the resident said.

She reported a significant presence of Fire & Rescue vehicles, as well as an ambulance.

"It makes us very nervous living so close, considering the short amount of time between each incident and the level of emergency responders."

Police are reviewing nearby CCTV footage but have requested that anyone with information about the incidents come forward.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Canberra Times. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.