Police release CCTV footage from Parramatta Public School fire
POLICE say three girls captured on CCTV footage before the Parramatta Public School fire last month may hold vital information as to who is responsible.
Parramatta
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POLICE say three girls captured on CCTV footage before the Parramatta Public School fire last month may hold vital information as to who is responsible for the blaze.
The young ladies, aged about 17 to 20, were seen in the vicinity of the school in the enclosed area, then later sighted in Church St.
The CCTV footage captures them on Church St around 2am and investigators believe the fire started around 4.45am.
Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett said: “At this stage they’ve got vital information about who actually started the fire.”
Police also want to talk to three males, believed to be slightly older than the girls, also captured on footage, which police are yet to release.
Det-Supt Howlett said it was important to find who was responsible for the fire.
“The building had asbestos in it so not only were members of the community in danger, we are putting firefighters who are responding to the fire (at risk).”
Investigations suggest the fire was deliberately lit but police remain tight-lipped on elaborating further.
“We want to apprehend them before they do something stupid again and actually injure a member of the public.”
A Department of Education spokesman said as of now, work is being conducted to safely secure the building, with no plans on demolishing the site.
“Initial work to safely secure the building is underway. This will allow engineers to access the building to fully assess the extent of the damage,” the spokesman said.
“Given the historical significance of the site, saving the heritage building is a priority.”
The fire resulted in significant damage to the school’s heritage building in excess of $10 million in damage.
“The new developers were hoping to incorporate it in the new development, however, we don’t believe that’ll be the case anymore,” she said.
Police are appealing for the three young girls to come forward, after the footage shows the trio walking on Charles St, close to Parramatta Public School, before the fire took hold of the 100 year old building in Macquarie St.
Emergency services were called to the school where they found the old primary building engulfed in flames.
About 300 people were evacuated from a nearby apartment building during the fire, but there were no injuries. More than 75 firefighters and 19 fire trucks were deployed to the two storey blaze, with the fire taking 12 hours to extinguish.
The blaze was extinguished by fire fighters, and while the building was not in use and no one was injured, it was significantly damaged.
Officers from Parramatta have suspected the fire was deliberately lit since they first attended the scene in May, with the video all but confirming that theory.
Detectives from the financial crimes squad’s arson unit established Strike Force Zingara are investigating the video, along with the remains of the building.
