A volunteer member of the NSW Rural Fire Service has been charged after allegedly deliberately lighting grass fires in the state’s south west.
Earlier this year, detectives from Murrumbidgee Police District established Strike Force Rummery to investigate more than 30 suspicious fires in Whitton, approximately 40km south of Griffith.
Following extensive inquiries, a 30-year-old man was arrested at a home in Whitton just after 11am on Friday (22 January 2021).
A search warrant was executed at the home, with investigators seizing items of interest for forensic examination.
He was taken to Griffith Police Station and charged with five counts of intentionally cause fire and be reckless as to its spread.
It’s alleged the man, who is a serving member of the NSW Rural Fire Service, deliberately lit more than 30 separate spot fires in the Whitton area between November 2020 and January 2021.
He was refused bail to appear at Wagga Wagga Bail Court yesterday (Saturday 23 January 2021), where he was remanded in custody to appear at Wagga Wagga Local Court on Wednesday (27 January 2021)
