Three teenagers spark Harrington Park bushfire with cigarette lighter
A trio of teenagers defied catastrophic fire conditions to spark a bushfire with a cigarette lighter a few hundred metres from a major road. Police have revealed what their punishment will be.
Macarthur
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Three teenagers who defied catastrophic fire conditions to spark a bushfire with a cigarette lighter will receive official cautions from police.
The trio of male firebugs, aged 15 and 16, ignited the blaze about 5.30pm Sunday only a few hundred metres from the The Northern Rd, Harrington Park, near the Narellan Sports Hub.
The fire burned for close to an hour with a number for Fire and Rescue NSW and Rural Fire Service crews called on to extinguish the danger.
Police were tipped off about the boys’ suspicious actions and after a quick search arrested two of the boys near Harrington Parkway. The third firebug was taken into custody shortly after.
Camden Police Area Command crime manager Chief Inspector Shane Woolbank confirmed to the Chronicle the boys were booked in to receive official cautions under the Youth Offenders Act later this month.
Just days after the deliberate fire an elite police strike force has been formed to catch accused arsonists, threatening the firebugs with penalties ranging from a $2200 fine for lighting an open fire to a 25-year sentence for lighting fires which endanger people’s lives or properties.
A staggering 54 accused firebugs have been caught by police since August 1, allegedly linked to 69 fires.
A number of deliberately lit fires in Leumeah are also under investigation by Campbelltown police.