New England police say clues left behind at suspicious fire as Uralla arson probe ramps up

Strike Force Nobility is made up of Armidale detectives and the state's arson squad and is trying to home in on the firebug behind more than 20 suspicious fires that have erupted.

The Leader revealed in September that almost two dozen fires are under investigation in and around the Uralla area, all believed to be deliberately lit since last year.

New England Detective Inspector Kingsley Chapman told the Leader there has been another suspicious fire in October that is under investigation.

"There was some forensic evidence left behind at that scene," he said.

"Crime scene police have attended and we're waiting on the results of that."

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Detective Chapman said the latest fire was another roadside blaze that went into scrub, and was "relatively minor" in nature, but had the potential to spread before fire crews got on top of it.

He said police were getting closer to homing in on who was responsible, with the latest evidence another clue.

"Investigations are continuing," he said.

The State Crime Command's specialist arson squad is working alongside New England detectives and Rural Fire Service (RFS) investigators as part of the police probe.

Police and fire investigators have found items of interest at the scene of the fires, including blazes on the New England Highway, Racecourse Road and Gostwyck Road in the past few months.

Detective Chapman said it was by sheer luck that they had had "no reports of substantial property damage, these have been grassfires on the side of the road, but they have been acted upon quickly and extinguished".

Some of the recent, larger blazes were sparked on the afternoon of August 30 on Gostwyck Road in Uralla which burnt through more than three hectares, while a suspicious fire off the New England Highway at Kentucky torched 150 acres of grassland on August 26.

Anyone with information is urged to contact New England police on 6738 3510.

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