Suspicious fires in Coledale and West Tamworth spark request for arson probe from State Crime Command's arson squad

Another suspicious fire that erupted in a Tingira Street carport on Sunday night, and ripped through a car, has now been added to the list.

About 9.20pm, the blaze was sparked in the carport and spread, damaging a fence and the car at the vacant property.

Since the start of May, four blazes in cars and houses in Coledale are believed to have been deliberately sparked and investigators believe evidence found at the scene shows they could be linked.

“In April and May, there has been a number of fires that our investigators are focusing on,” Oxley Chief Inspector Phil O’Reilly told The Leader.

“In April there were two structures in Bourne Street and Kenny Drive and both of those structures were vacant.

“That follows on of course from previous fires in that area since January.”

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Oxley detectives have been leading the probe into and now police have called for specially-trained arson investigators to back-up officers.

“We have submitted a request for some assistance from the State Crime Command’s arson squad,” Chief Inspector O’Reilly said.

“We have some focus in a number of recent fires and there are a whole range of fires, not just structural, grass fires and vehicle fires.”

Chief Inspector O’Reilly said police were calling on locals to come forward before a fire gets out of control or someone is injured.

"There must be people in the community who know who is involved in the lighting of these fires,” he said.

“We would urge those community members to talk to police. 

“We have a whole range of strategies in place as part of the investigation and we are speaking with property owners and working with Fire and Rescue NSW. 

“We’ve already conducted community engagement in that area and that will continue with police patrols, but if anyone knows anything then we would urge them to come forward.”