Bendigo police seek information over $300,000 Wills St fire

Police say it is only “a matter of time” before they catch up with the firebugs responsible for a blaze which caused $300,000 damage to a Bendigo heritage building.

Detectives believe they are close to finding those responsible for a fire which caused $300,000 worth of damage to a Bendigo heritage building.

The fire was lit at a heritage building situated on Wills Street on Tuesday, January 5.

Witnesses heard glass breaking and saw two offenders pour an unknown substance into the window at the front of the building just before 12.30am.

The fire spread quickly, and the pair were seen running from the property towards Mitchell Street a short time later.

Bendigo detectives are still hunting for the firebugs who caused $300,000 worth of damage to a Will St heritage building.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire and the blaze caused up to $300,000 damage to the building and contents.

Authorities have re-released CCTV footage and images of two people they believe can help with their inquiries.

The first male is described as about 180cm tall, with a solid build and was wearing black pants, a black hooded top and black shoes.

One of the people believed to be responsible. Photo: Victoria Police.

The second male is described as about 170cm tall, with a thin build and was wearing black pants, a black hooded top, black shoes and a white backpack.

“We believe we are very close to identifying those responsible for this blaze and it’s only a matter of time before we do,” lead investigator Regan Oxford said.

“It’s likely that one of the offenders may have sustained burns to their upper body that may have required medical attention at the time and these burns are likely to have resulted in scarring to the upper body.

“There are a number of exhibits we obtained from the crime scene that are still being forensically examined and we are confident we will get results from these soon.”

Anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

[e-mail]