A man will face court today charged with lighting 28 fires in the Lake Illawarra region over an eight-month period.
About 1am on Wednesday 15 January 2020, emergency services were called to Hilltop Avenue, Lake Heights, following reports a vacant block of land was on fire.
Fire and Rescue NSW attended and extinguished the blaze, which partially destroyed a fence on Noble Parade and came within metres of a nearby home.
Officers from Lake Illawarra Police District commenced inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the fire.
About 2.30am today (Tuesday 25 August 2020), detectives allegedly observed a man carrying items to the block in preparation to burn them.
The 53-year-old man was arrested and taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station, where he was charged with 28 counts of intentionally cause fire and be reckless as to its spread.
Police will allege the man attended the block on 28 separate occasions between January and August 2020.
He was refused bail and is due to face Wollongong Local Court today.
