Three vehicles torched in Braddon

Three vehicles were torched in Braddon on Tuesday night (28 May) in what appears to be random attacks by the same person or persons.

Police and fire services received multiple calls regarding the fires between 9:30 pm and 10.30 pm.

In the first instance, at about 9:30 pm, a tree was set on fire near the intersection of Drake Street and Higgins Crescent in Ainslie.

A couple of cars blew up in the city tonight. Another one apparently on fire just down the road minutes after this.
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About 15 minutes later, the target was a silver Volkswagen in Doonkuna Street, Braddon.

Again, about 15 minutes later, at 10 pm, a second silver Volkswagen was set on fire on Amaroo Street, Reid, near St John’s Church.

At around 10:25 pm, a silver Ford Focus was set alight on Constitution Avenue, Reid, near CIT.

No one was hurt, but one residence had to be evacuated due to smoke.

Acting Inspector Max Mokrij said there was no reason to believe the vehicles or residences were deliberately targeted for any specific reason, but given the time frame and similar circumstances, it appeared that the same people were involved.

Acting Inspector Mokrij said police believed that a motorcycle may have been involved and were appealing specifically for any CCTV or dash cam footage of anybody on a motorcycle in the Ainslie, Reid or Braddon area acting suspiciously.

He would not say how the cars were set alight or whether an accelerant was used.

The vehicles were not stolen; they were just parked on the street outside residences.

Acting Inspector Mokrij had no evidence that these attacks were connected to other similar incidents in Canberra.

“Thanks to the prompt response from police and particularly ACT Fire and Rescue, the fires were able to be extinguished without any risk to life or homes,” he said.

ACT Fire and Rescue Superintendent of Operations Jim Walsh said four appliances from Ainslie, Fyshwick and Aranda stations attended the fires.

Mr Walsh said the torched vehicles were written off, and without further investigation, he could not say if any substances were used to set them alight.

“No further damage was done to any other structures by the car fires, but one residence was evacuated as smoke got into the residence and we needed to clear that with atmospheric monitoring to ensure that the environment was safe for the people to reoccupy their house, which they did,” he said.