Man charged over blaze at Caulfield Racecourse grandstand after being caught on CCTV
A 51-year-old man has been charged after a fire tore through the Caulfield Racecourse grandstand, causing millions of dollars worth of damage.
Victoria
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A man has been charged after a fire caused millions of dollars of damage to a stand at Caulfield Racecourse.
Scores of firefighters rushed to the blaze on Station St about 6.30am to find the grandstand ablaze.
The fire was declared under control at 7.09am.
Paramedics reported no one was injured and the area was evacuated safely.
The track was declared a crime scene and was being investigated by Victoria Police.
A 51-year-old man was arrested at Mordialloc train station on Tuesday afternoon after reports of several grass fires in the area.
On Tuesday night, police charged the man with four counts of arson, two counts of trespass and one count each of burglary, criminal damage and theft.
The man, whose last known address was in Wangaratta, was remanded in custody and was due to appear before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Detective Sergeant Stuart Hough told the media on Tuesday afternoon police “were investigating four fires, as well as ones in Mordialloc.”
Police believe the fires to be suspicious.
The Caulfield blaze caused significant damage to the 1876 Bar and the Medallion bar.
There was also some water damage as a result of the firefighting effort but precious artworks escaped the blaze.
CCTV footage being inspected by police allegedly revealed a man dragging a wheelie bin to an upper level of the Norman Robinson stand, adding extra paper and setting it alight.
Sources who have viewed the footage allege the man pushed the wheelie bin into an area of the stand with timber decking, where the fire spread quickly.
“We are still going through footage to fully understand what happened.” said Sergeant Hough on Tuesday afternoon.
Melbourne Racing Club chairman John Kanga said a “state of the art” sprinkler system had prevented the fire from destroying the historic stand at Caulfield.
“The grandstand will not be demolished, it will be rebuilt,” he said.
“I’m not a builder but from what I’ve seen this morning the damage will be in the millions.”
Mr Kanga said staff and members were “gutted as a club”.
“We’re in a very good position. We will rebuild and we’re keen to ensure their heritage aspect is covered.”
A ground staff member cutting the grass for a scheduled Wednesday race meeting was the first to alert the fire brigade to the flames on Station St about 6.20am on Tuesday.
The local Glen Iris station had keys to the racecourse and were quickly on the scene, along with 17 trucks from around the area, and arrived to find smoke pouring from the main grandstand, and flames visible through the building’s windows.
Mr Kanga said Wednesday’s Caulfield Heath Twilight event would go ahead, but that it would likely be held at a different location.
“We’ve got the Mornington racecourse on standby, so we’re comfortable to be able to race tomorrow.”
Acting Assistant Chief Fire Officer Dennis Smith said fire crews had worked hard to keep the blaze contained, as it had potential to spread quickly through the timber stand.
“Being such an old building, there’s definitely a lot of potential for that to extend and be quite a significant fire, but really good work from the initial crews,” Mr Smith said.
“We had approximately 17 fire trucks and resources on scene, and I think it was over 70 firefighters on scene, so they’ve all worked pretty hard.”
Mr Smith confirmed there were no injuries to the public, but that one firefighter received a cut to their hand while responding and had been taken to hospital for treatment.
The fire comes as Caulfield prepares for one of its busiest periods with the Blue Diamond Stakes, CF Orr Stakes and Oakleigh Plate all scheduled for next month.
All are Group 1 races.
Originally published as Man charged over blaze at Caulfield Racecourse grandstand after being caught on CCTV
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