Firefighters extinguish Anula house fire, no injuries reported

A Top End house engulfed in flames has not caused any injuries and the Fire and Rescue Service continues to investigate the cause of the blaze.

NT Fire and Rescue Service were notified of a structural fire on Union Tce, Anula, at 5.30pm Thursday. Picture: Sierra Haigh

Residents of a house that was “engulfed in flames” overnight have been notifed of “significant damage” to their property.

Firefighters were notified of the structure fire in Anula at about 5.30pm on Thursday.

An NT police spokeswoman said the blaze was extinguished “after the arrival of the fire crews”.

The occupants of the Union Tce residence were not home at the time of the fire and no injuries were recorded.

An NT police spokesman said an investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing.

The fire started just hours after NTFRS was notified of a bushfire about 6km away on Vanderlin Dr, causing low visibility along the major road.

Bushfire warning as tip goes up in flames

A bushfire has broken out along a major Top End road, with shrubs, trees, and grass to burn for hours.

NT Fire and Rescue Services were notified of a bushfire at the Shoal Bay Recycling Centre on Vanderlin Dr at 1.20pm Thursday.

Drivers in the area are urged to slow down and turn their car’s headlights on while they are in the are.

Smoke from the fire, which had not been contained when emergency services issued a warning at 1.24pm, could affect visibility as the flames approach the roadside.

The bushfire is spreading on multiple fronts while a grass and scrub fire burns a short distance away on the same road.

Dog squad sniff out alleged luxury car thieves

Four adults and five youths were arrested in the Darwin region over the weekend in two separate incidents, aided by the Northern Territory Police dog squad.

Early on Friday morning police received reports a Toyota HiLux had been stolen from Wadeye.

It was spotted on Saturday travelling on the Stuart Highway near the intersection of Cox Peninsula Rd in Noonamah.

Tyre deflation devices were used in Wickham, with the car coming to a stop on Brumby Ct, Marlow Lagoon.

Four adults and three youths allegedly ran from the car into nearby bushland.

Patrol dogs Drax and Wedge were used to track the group in a cordoned area, Drax and his handler finding all seven hiding in tall grass.

The alleged offenders were all taken into custody and have been charged with driving a vehicle without consent.

Drax

Wedge

In a separate incident at 2.30am on Monday, two youths broke into a home on Gardens Hill Rd, The Gardens, and stole a Lexus and a Mercedes.

The Lexus was later used in a ram raid at a business on Temple Tce, Palmerston, before being found abandoned on Driver Oval a short time later.

At 5.35am that morning, tyre deflation devices were used on the Mercedes in Driver, with the car later recovered in Moulden.

A 12-year-old and a 13-year-old were arrested in Driver, both charged with aggravated burglary, theft, using a vehicle without consent, driving while unlicensed and serious breach of bail. The 13-year-old was also charged with damage to property.

Senior Sergeant Michael Lunney said the arrests showed “exceptional work” by the dog unit, Strike Force Trident and general duties officers.

“I would also like to commend the work of PD Drax and his handler, who tracked and subsequently arrested seven offenders single-handedly, after tracking them through dense bushland,” he said.

Kids charged after allegedly assaulting Uber driver

Police have charged five youths after a man was allegedly assaulted on Peel St. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Police have charged five youths after they allegedly assaulted an Uber driver in Darwin on Monday night.

NT Police Northern Watch Commander Greg Lamb said a group of youths allegedly approached a man in his car and asked for cigarettes at about 11.30pm.

He said the man, who was sitting in his car on Peel St, declined.

Police said five youths then allegedly entered the man’s car and assaulted him as he attempted to raise the alarm.

Police arrived and the youths fled from the scene after allegedly stealing cash from the man’s car.

Sergeant Lamb said police used CCTV to locate and identify five youths in relation to the incident.

CCTV operators helped general duties and dog operations officers to find and arrest the youths in a carpark between Smith St and Cavenagh St.

The boys aged 12 to 15 have been charged with aggravated robbery and serious breach of bail.

They are expected to appear in court at a later date.

Another three children allegedly “smashed their way through the front doors” of a vape shop in Palmerston in an unrelated incident at about 5.30pm the same evening.

He said police members and the Dog Operations Unit attended and took the group into custody, with investigations into the incident ongoing.

Sergeant Lamb said the trio had not been charged and were possibly eligible for youth diversion.

Ambos, fireys in heroic rescue after 66-year-old falls from roof

Man rushed to hospital after fall from roof. Picture: Che Chorley

A 66-year-old man is in a stable condition at the Royal Darwin Hospital after he was injured falling off a roof.

St John NT director of ambulance services Andrew Thomas told ABC radio the man’s back, leg, and arm were injured when he fell off the roof in Darwin’s rural area on Sunday morning.

Mr Thomas said the St John crew got the call at about 9.30am and found the man on another, lower part of the roof.

“Bit of a difficult access for our crews,” he said.

“The NT Fire Service worked great with our staff and they sort of brought in their high lift aerial appliance and worked with our crews too, obviously taking good care of the patient and then getting him off the roof.”

A St John NT spokeswoman later said the fire and rescue service often worked with ambulance crews to retrieve patients.

“In this case, it would have been difficult to retrieve the patient in other ways due to his injuries,” she said.

[e-mail]