Sunshine West: Residents’ anger at spate of ‘suspicious’ school fires

Residents living near a condemned high school campus in Melbourne’s west say they’re “fed up” after fires destroyed three buildings.

Residents living near a condemned high school campus in Melbourne’s west are “fed up” after a spate of fires at the school destroyed three buildings.

In just six months, Sunshine College’s former Ardeer Campus on Glenalga Rd in Sunshine West has been the site of three out-of-control fires causing “extensive damage” to the site.

The campus was vacated in 2020 after the education facilities at two other Sunshine College campuses were upgraded, merging the school from four campuses to two.

A fire in one of the school’s buildings on June 19 saw more than 30 firefighters rush to the scene, battling for 30 minutes to bring the fire under control.

Just three weeks prior, another building at the school was damaged in a “suspicious” fire, with more than 30 firefighters called to the location around 7.30pm.

The school had already been damaged when a fire ripped through the school‘s hall on New Year’s Eve, requiring specialist aerial units to subdue the blaze.

Ross Gelman, who lives opposite the former school, said residents were “sick and tired” of issues at the school and wanted more to be done to prevent people lingering around the area.

“You see people hanging around the block all the time, it’s been covered in tags and graffiti,” he said.

“Everyone around here is worried the next fire might spread to their homes.”

A police spokeswoman said investigations into the two most recent fires were ongoing but at this stage the incidents were being treated as suspicious.

“Both fires caused extensive damage to the western block buildings and there were no reports of injuries,” she said.

“Anyone who witnessed the fires or has information that could assist police with their inquiries is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.”

An Education Department spokeswoman said the department was aware of the fires and local residents had been informed the campus had been earmarked for demolition.

“The site of the former Ardeer campus of Sunshine College is being retained for a future education use,” she said.

“The site is under the control of the Department’s demolition contractor and demolition works will proceed shortly.

“Post demolition, the land will be reinstated as open space and the site will be accessible by the general public for recreational purposes, pending its future reactivation for education use.”

The spokeswoman declined to answer whether additional security would be implemented to prevent further fires.

Crime Stoppers can be reached on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.