Shane Fitzsimmons of the Rural Fire Service says evidence suggests fire that destroyed more than 2,500 hectares was deliberately lit

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The New South Wales rural fire chief has described the suspected deliberate starting of the Holsworthy fire as “sickening and reprehensible”, while urging residents in south-western suburbs of Sydney to remain vigilant despite easing conditions.

Police have set up a strike force to investigate the bushfire that tore through vast areas of bushland and threatened homes on the weekend.

The strong winds that fanned the fire on Sunday eased on Monday, allowing authorities to downgrade the alert level to “advice” and tell residents it was safe to return home.

Wind gusts had reached up to 70km/h on Sunday, and dry conditions combined with “unprecedented” early autumn temperatures to create a high-risk environment.

Firefighters worked through the night, conducting tactical back-burning, particularly around the fire’s northern and south-western fronts, and patrolling streets for flare-ups and floating embers. Resources were scaled down significantly from about 500 firefighters on Sunday to about 250 on Monday.

The fire was still not contained on Monday morning, and authorities were urging residents to remain vigilant, particularly with winds forecast to pick up again on Monday afternoon.

The Rural Fire Service assistant commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, said evidence suggested the fire was deliberately lit.

Firefighters tackle bushfire in Sydney's south-west – pictures Read more

“It is sickening and reprehensible,” Fitzsimmons said. “How dare anyone in society think that they can deliberately light a fire, endangering first and foremost all of these men and women, the vast majority of whom are volunteers, putting their lives on the line to bring these fires under control.”

The fire is thought to have started near Leacocks reserve in Casula, and had spread over 2,500 hectares by late Sunday.

NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) Easing Conditions have seen the Morebank Ave Fire downgraded to Advice. Residents in fire effected areas should continue to be vigilant and monitor conditions #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/u55gUH6SXq

Detectives believe several spot fires began in the Leacock Reserve area on Friday night, and have looked at CCTV footage in the area.

The bushfire flared up about 2.30pm the next day in the same location.

“The area where we believe the fire commenced has been forensically examined,” Acting Superintendent Paul Albury told reporters on Monday.

“We have taken a number of statements from people who called the police and fire services in regards to the fire.”

Conditions were particularly dry, and there had been very little rain, Fitzsimmons said. The dry spell had combined with what Fitzsimmons said were “unprecedented” autumn temperatures.



“We do see fires all throughout the year, but we don’t see them to the sort of magnitude we have seen in the last couple of days here in south-west Sydney,” Fitzsimmons said.

There were initial fears about the scale of damage to property, particularly to homes in west Menai and Barden Ridge.

But Fitzsimmons said no homes had been lost and the damage had been relatively minor. There were reports of damage to fences, a cubbyhouse and gardens, he said.

The result was described as “extraordinary”.



Residents of Voyager Point, Pleasure Point, Sandy Point, Illawong, Menai and Bangor had been warned of the danger of ember attacks as many scrambled with hoses and buckets to protect their houses.



NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) Moorebank Avenue, #Holsworthy Fire: Latest Linescan taken at about 4:10pm showing current fire activity. Brighter areas are more intense fire. #NSWRFS #nswfires pic.twitter.com/R0CbCdHymG

By 5pm on Sunday, some Menai residents were starting to relax.

Daniel Borg, who lives on Hall Drive in Menai alongside bushland, admitted it was concerning to see how close the flames came. “It was pretty scary,” he said when finally opening a beer, thankful his house came with sprinklers on the roof.

Firefighters took advantage of the conditions to do a back burn along Heathcote Road near Pleasure Point as well as in areas of the Holsworthy military base.



Fitzsimmons said the fire was not thought to have started on defence land.

On Monday the fire was continuing to burn in a south-easterly direction towards Barden Ridge.

The NSW government has also indicated it will investigate why trains were allowed to continue running past the fire ground while it was active.