Investigation continues into Bendigo heritage building fire

Bendigo Crime Investigation Unit detectives are continuing their investigation into a suspicious fire that occurred in Bendigo in January this year.

The fire was lit at a heritage building situated on Wills Street on Tuesday 5 January.

Witnesses heard glass breaking and saw two offenders pour an unknown substance into the window at the front of the building just before 12.30am.

The fire spread quickly, and the pair were seen running from the property towards Mitchell Street a short time later.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire and the blaze caused up to $300,000 damage to the building and contents.

Detectives have re-released CCTV footage and images of two people they believe are responsible for the fire.

The first male is described as approximately 180cm tall, with a solid build and was wearing black pants, a black hooded top and black shoes.

The second male is described as approximately 170cm tall, with a thin build and was wearing black pants, a black hooded top, black shoes and a white backpack.

Quotes attributable to Detective Senior Constable Regan Oxford, lead investigator at Bendigo Crime Investigation Unit.

“We believe we are very close to identifying those responsible for this blaze and it’s only a matter of time before we do.

“It’s likely that one of the offenders may have sustained burns to their upper body that may have required medical attention at the time and these burns are likely to have resulted in scarring to the upper body, he said.

“There are a number of exhibits we obtained from the crime scene that are still being forensically examined and we are confident we will get results from these soon.

Anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

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