Tuesday, 18 February, 2025
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Lightning sparks over 200 fires in Vic
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Chairs in the grandstand, the adjoining back walls and the floorboards were damaged in the fire on Wednesday 12 February. (Lilydale CFA)
Fire no surprise A suspicious fire, which left a section of the grandstand at Lilydale Recreation Reserve unusable, was not unexpected after months of damage and vandalism. At around 5.30am on Wednesday 12 February, Lilydale CFA Brigade firefighters were paged to the blaze in the grandstand, believed to have been called in by a passing train driver. The brigade’s First Lieutenant Ron Haines said the fire was “well alight” when the responders arrived within five minutes of getting the call.
“It did manage to start in the floorboards. It spread to the chairs in this grandstand, then it went up into the part of the roof,” he said. “We were able to contain the fire very, very quickly and we contained the fire to approximately an area of five by five metres, plus there must have been about 30 chairs damaged, and a small portion of the roof was scorched by fire. “It was a very quick save by the fire brigade backed up by CFA Chirnside Park and also CFA Mooroolbark.” With no one around and no evidence of how
the fire started, the CFA called police identifying the fire as suspicious. A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed “no one was injured” and “an investigation into the circumstances is underway”. Lilydale Cricket Club president Steve Oxley said unfortunately “we’ve been preempting the bad news” with a group of young people hanging around, using the grandstand as a place to gather. “For weeks now, it’s been coming. They’ve been breaking the seats, leaving a stack of debris up there, having copious amounts of drugs, and
with no real consequence, because there’s not much we can do but talk to the police,” he said. “We get the PSOs over there and the police themselves but for the police, there’s not much they can do which leaves us in a terrible predicament.” First seen using the grandstand at the start of football season last year, Lilydale Football Club president Anthony Simmons said the activity picked up throughout summer and the school holidays. Continued page 3
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By Mikayla van Loon
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