Accused firebugs face court over inner west, Illawarra and Hunter Valley blazes

Three men have been arrested and charged with lighting separate blazes during the statewide ban put in place while NSW battled catastrophic bushfires this week.

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Three alleged firebugs have faced courts across the state after ignoring a NSW-wide fire ban that was in place during catastrophic conditions.

Three men were arrested and charged over allegedly lighting several separate blazes in Sydney’s inner west, the Illawarra and Hunter Valley during a statewide fire ban on Wednesday.

Annandale man Rhys MacKey, 37, appeared before Newtown Local Court on Thursday charged with destroying or damaging property in company by means of fire, and failing to comply with a total fire ban.

Police will allege MacKey used a crowbar to lift a section of footpath in Johnston St, Annandale, and set underground wires alight in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“The man left the scene in the company of a woman, and emergency services were called after flames were seen coming out of the ground,” a NSW police spokeswoman said.

Fire and Rescue NSW put out the fire, while Leichhardt Police were notified.

MacKey was arrested at about 1.30pm on Wednesday, a short distance from where the fire was lit. Police searched his home at Johnstone St, Annandale, and seized several items.

MacKey was refused bail and is due to reappear before Newtown Local Court on January 9. Police are working to identify the woman involved in the alleged incident.

Photos of the fire allegedly lit by Balgownie man Jakeb Eaton. Picture: NSW SES Wollongong Unit

Meanwhile, a 20-year-old man has been charged after allegedly lighting a bushfire in a Balgownie reserve, near Wollongong — just metres away from a major rescue operation to free a paraglider suspended from a tree.

Jakeb Eaton, of Balgownie, was charged with cause or set fire to the property, after police allegedly caught him fanning the flames of a small bushfire on Wednesday evening.

Around 5.30pm, officers trying to rescue the stranded paraglider smelled smoke and went on foot to investigate, discovering the bushland nearby on fire.

The paraglider who landed in trees in the Illawarra. Picture: Madeline Crittenden

Special operations ambulance officers, police rescuers and SES volunteers brought the fire under control before a Balgownie Fire and Rescue brigade arrived to extinguish it.

In the space of just five minutes, the fire destroyed about 150sqm of bushland, which Ambulance NSW Illawarra Inspector Terry Morrow said could have led to a catastrophic outcome.

“We have dry conditions at the moment, bushfires all over the country, and to have someone deliberately light a fire, especially when we are trying to rescue someone, made us so fearful,” he said. “The paraglider could have been up that tree for longer than we anticipated and if the fire had really taken hold then there would have been a dangerous situation.”

Operation to rescue the paraglider. 

Emergency services found the fire during the rescue operation. 

Illawarra Police Rescue Sergeant Richard Walsh said the situation could have been “absolutely devastating” if not for the quick thinking of emergency crews.

After being arrested in the bush, Eaton was taken to Wollongong Police Station and charged.

He has been granted strict conditional bail to appear in Wollongong Local Court on December 3. Police also seized the Eaton’s mobile phone for forensic examination.

A third man, who is yet to be identified, was arrested after allegedly lighting a fire to burn rubbish in the backyard of his Long Point home in the Hunter Valley.

Police allege the 26-year-old man lit the fire less than 40m from a shed that contained petrol, oil and fertilisers.

The man will due to appear at Singleton Court in January 16.