Arson investigation in Uralla continues as Strike Force Nobility detectives hunt suspected firebug

Strike Force Nobility is the operation homing in on a firebug who has set alight more than 20 locations in the Uralla area.

"We haven't had the reports that we'd been having," New England Detective Inspector Kinglsey Chapman told the Leader.

"But definitely, detectives are still investigating those fires.

"It is very much still an active investigation and we're being assisted by the State Crime Command's arson squad."

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The State Crime Command's specialist arson squad is working with New England detectives in Armidale, as well as investigators from the Rural Fire Service (RFS).

The investigators have been able to pinpoint the ignition points of the blazes, and have combed the fire scenes, collecting evidence they said had been crucial to the investigation.

"The occurrence of those fires really ramped up around August and September, but it has really reduced since November," he said.

The Leader revealed the spate of fires, and the police investigation was launched in the wake.

Detective Chapman said as a consequence community members had become more vigilant and the occurrence of suspicious incidents had reduced.

In October, "forensic evidence was left behind at the scene" of another suspicious fire, which had been seized for specialist forensic testing.

Most of the fires have been on the roadside in the Uralla area, and have spread into scrubland or paddocks, but it "was sheer luck" that no infrastructure or homes or sheds had been lost or damaged.

Among the two dozen fires since the start of the year include blazes on the New England Highway, Racecourse Road and Gostwyk Road.

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