Police say arson not on rise despite Gympie, Fraser Coast building fires

A spate of suspicious fires which gutted shops and homes in Gympie and the Fraser Coast are among dozens of alleged arson cases this year which have included one death.

A spate of recent suspicious fires that gutted Gympie and the Fraser Coast buildings in recent months is “not suggestive” of an increase in arson offences, police say.

The two regions have been rattled by several suspicious blazes in the past few months which have destroyed shops, homes, and property,

A Mary St, Gympie shop was gutted and structurally damaged at the start of September in one incident, and at the end of the month a popular auto-parts business only a few blocks away was destroyed in another blaze.

Three youths, aged between 13 and 15, were dealt with under the Youth Justice Act in relation to the Mary St fire.

Police are still investigating the auto-shop fire.

A suspicious fire which gutted a Urangan home in early hours of Sunday October 9 is one of several suspicious fires across the Fraser Coast and Gympie this year.

Early Sunday morning a house at Urangan was destroyed in a suspicious fire police are investigating.

At the end of July two disused timber train carriages at the historic Mary Valley Rattler were gutted in a blaze which is likewise still being investigated.

“Each of the fires is being investigated on their own merits,” police said.

“All four seem unrelated with no obvious nexus between them as to why the offenders chose to start fires during the commission of these offences.

“Although there does not seem to be a connection between the fires police always keep an open mind.”

Police said offenders use fire for several reasons “including destroying evidence of their crime, a desire to cause significant property damage or a senseless act”.

There have been 47 alleged cases of arson across the Gympie and Fraser Coast council areas so far this year, police crime data shows.

Two timber train carriages were destroyed in a suspicious fire at the Mary valley Rattler in July. The fire is still under investigation. Photo: Scott Kovacevic

This was compared to 48 recorded across the two regions in 2021.

Nineteen of these were in Hervey Bay, 12 in Gympie and 10 in Maryborough.

Two had been reported within the Imbil police district, and isolated offences at Goomeri, Kilkivan, Howard and Tiaro.

The damage from some suspicious fires across the region has been severe, including one fatality,

Damien Ramsay, 50, was killed in a fire which destroyed a shed at his Pacific Haven property in February, 2022.

Three teenagers were dealt with under the Youth Justice Act in relation to a fire which destroyed a Mary St business in Gympie on September 4 2022.

Police said on Wednesday that they have identified and spoken with a man depicted in CCTV footage released in March in relation to the fire, and he is “no longer sought by police”.

The cause of the fire remains unknown and several power tools were stolen some time between 2pm February 17 and 1.30am February 18 when the fire was reported.

Investigations remain ongoing.

Four teenage girls were charged over a house fire at Monkland also in February which gutted the timber building.

In June a building at bayside Christian College was damaged after unidentified people visited the premises and in September a Pialba home was extensively damaged in a suspicious fire.

In January an old-wrecking yard at Maryborough went up in flames only days after the region was inundated by severe flooding.