Five suspicious car fires in the Tuggeranong area overnight have police calling for witnesses to come forward.
Police responded to five incidents in the suburbs of Kambah, Gilmore and Chisholm between 11pm Thursday and 1.30am Friday.
The fires were all in cars parked at the front of houses, and are estimated to have caused around $65,000 worth of damage.
Police are treating them as suspicious, with investigations into the cause of each fire underway.
In Gilmore, one of the first fires was out the front of Sonia Ellem’s house in May Maxwell Crescent.
Her son’s girlfriend parked her 1998 Ford Laser on the nature strip, and an hour and a half later it was on fire.
“They heard the [alarm] go off … and looked out and the car was on fire. [It] woke us up and half the neighbourhood,” she said.
Her son’s call to the fire brigade was logged at 11.31pm
“The next door neighbour, who’s a mechanic, has got a fire extinguisher and he went and got it and put most of it out before the firies came – it was just smouldering.”
They noticed a full car with P-plates drive slowly down the suburban street as they were waiting for the fire brigade to come, and noted its license plate number.
“We’ve given the police that, I mean it may not be part of it, but it would seem funny that they were driving around the street … it looked a bit dodgy.”
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It's not the first bit of bad luck the family has had at the house, three years ago, a stolen car smashed through their lounge room.
"We really haven’t had a great deal of trouble since then … then my bike [was stolen] the other night and now this," Mrs Ellem said.
Meanwhile, her son’s girlfriend is without her transport to work, and has to pay $650 excess on the insurance.
As soon as the Fire Brigade left, Mrs Ellem noticed they had their lights and sirens on again, with more fires burning up the road.
Emergency services were called to three fires all up in the Chisolm and Gilmore area, with calls logged later at 12.34am at Louisa Lawson Crescent, and 12.43am at Rosman Circuit.
A fire in Bateman Street in Kambah prompted an emergency services call at 12.10am, and there was a second Kambah fire in an undisclosed street, which the owner extinguished.
Another car fire in Rivett is not believed to be related. That car is believed to have been stolen then dumped at a construction site where it was set alight.
Anyone who may have witnessed a motor vehicle fire, or seen any suspicious activity in these areas is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via act.crimestoppers.com.au.
Information can be provided anonymously.
Do you know more? Email online@canberratimes.com.au
