Mareeba fire: Two girls, 12, charged with arson over Performance Motors inferno

Kevin and Lucy Dunn stood on the roadside in tears as they watched firefighters douse the charred ruins of their business after a fire tore through in the dead of night. Now charges have been laid against a pair of alleged baby-faced arsonists.

TWO young girls have been charged with arson after a Mareeba mechanic business was gutted by fire.

The girls, who are aged just 12, were taken into custody on Tuesday morning after a police investigation into the suspicious blaze.

Owners of Performance Motors Kevin and Lucy Dunn had to stand on the roadside in tears as they watched firefighters douse the charred ruins of their business on Monday night.

The pair have run the Byrne St business for a quarter of a century, having added the Yamaha Motorcycles showroom in recent years.

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About 12.30am on Tuesday June 29, it all went up in flames with police coming across the fire while attending a separate incident.

“I am just devastated,” Mrs Dunn said.

Mr Dunn was first alerted to the inferno about 1am on Tuesday.

He could see the glow of the fire several kilometres away at his home in Martin Ave.

Speaking at the scene mid-morning on Tuesday, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Captain Jimmy Isabella said flare-up fires kept erupting in the ruins of the large building.

“We can’t get in there because of the iron so we need an excavator to come in and lift up materials so we can squirt water on to those hot spots,” Capt Isabella explained.

“We were able to contain the fire to the workshop area and save the showroom, but I believe that due to all the heat on the main wall, probably the showroom will be knocked down.”

Seven fire trucks attended the blaze with crew members determined to stop it from spreading to adjoining buildings.

“It is devastating for the owners who have been in business here for a long, long time,” Capt Isabella said.

“We have ideas about what happened from talking to the police and the public, but we have to go through protocol and we have a fire investigator coming up from Cairns.”

Mr Dunn said seven cars owned by clients were detroyed in the workshop, as well as his beloved Harley motorbike and a great deal of specialised equipment.

He estimated damage of more than $2m.

“I’m pissed off – really badly, and pretty sad,” he said.

Originally published as Mareeba fire: Two girls, 12, charged with arson over Performance Motors inferno