A vehicle and house set aflame as four suspicious fires start near Newman

Four suspicious blazes, including one in an abandoned car and another in an unoccupied house, on the outskirts of Newman last weekend are being investigated by police. The scrub fires occurred in the Parnpajinya community just outside of Newman and the house and vehicle fires happened on the Kalgan Drive, on the southern entrance of the town. Newman police officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Ray Anderson said the incidents were under investigation. “There was a vehicle set on fire and an unoccupied house had a couple of rooms damaged by fire,” he said. “We don’t know an awful lot but we know the two scrub fires were fairly close to each other. The abandoned car and the unoccupied house were also close in proximity.” Snr Sgt Anderson said fire posed a serious threat to the community in the dry conditions. “It is really dry out there, we haven’t had any rain so any fires are potentially fatal,” he said. “If people are able to help us out with any information they might have, we would love them to get in touch with us.” Anyone with information about the blazes should contact Newman police or Crime Stoppers.