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WA Police arson squad launch Strike Force Vulcan for three-months across summer bushfire season

Nobody likes arsonists. The fires they light destroy homes and bushland. They put a strain on emergency services, and in worst-case scenarios, cause loss of life. Monday, WA Police launches Strike Force Vulcan — a team of investigators committed to catching anyone who lights bushfires during the hot summer period. Det-Sen. Sgt Stephen Foley, officer-in-charge of the arson squad, said the strike force would be in action for three months, with a determined focus on catching firebugs. “There has been a number of bushfires already this year, and there has been some arrests over those in the last month, and people have been brought to account for their actions,” he told The West Australian. “Lighting fires creates a lot of dangers and risks. There’s loss of bush, there’s loss of pasture, there’s loss of life. “It’s a very serious matter, and Strike Force Vulcan takes that obviously very seriously, and we will investigate all the suspicious fires and do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.” The arson squad, consisting of the same strike force investigators, have been kept busy in recent weeks, including on Thursday, when they were tasked with investigating a raging fire in Aubin Grove that burnt through 20ha and threatened homes. Firefighters managed to stop the blaze from destroying property. The investigation is ongoing. On Friday, police were called to investigate a suspicious blaze on the side of Tonkin Highway in Bullsbrook. A Subaru Forester was found burnt out at the scene and Strike Force Vulcan investigators wish to speak with the car’s owner as part of their investigation. And on November 8, residents in Ardross had a close call when a suspicious blaze quickly spread through Wireless Hill Park. Families enjoying the park and nearby residents were evacuated to avoid any risk to lives. Images taken by The West Australian of Strike Force Vulcan investigators at the scene show just how close riverside homes were to the blaze — an eerie reminder of how devastation can occur in suburbia when a fire is lit. No arrests have been made over the fire. In the 2023-24 Strike Force Vulcan season, lasting three months, detectives charged 92 people with 202 offences. More than half of the offenders were juveniles. And last summer, 69 people were charged with 104 offences. Arson investigators work closely with DFES, who are on the front line trying to defend lives and homes from fires. Det-Sen. Sgt Foley said when a fire is deemed suspicious, the arson squad is alerted by DFES. In summer, suspicious bushfires are investigated by Strike Force Vulcan, which consists of arson detectives, metropolitan police and a DFES fire investigator. DFES commissioner Darren Klemm said that since January, 355 bushfires were deemed deliberately lit by DFES fire investigation officers in cases where there was “strong evidence of human intervention”. Mr Klemm said 871 bushfires had potentially suspicious circumstances, representing about 28 per cent of all bushfires across WA this year. “The number of deliberately lit or potentially suspicious bushfires has remained relatively steady, with approximately 30 per cent each year since 2020 deemed either suspicious or deliberately lit,” he added. “The number of fires is only one indicator of severity as it only takes one deliberately lit bushfire to have a devastating consequence and a profound, long-lasting impact on communities.” A DFES determination does not always mean a crime has been committed and is separate to a police investigation. Det-Sen. Sgt. Foley said investigating arson offences “can be very difficult” but he was adamant his team would investigate reports of suspicious bushfires thoroughly. “Most of the time they happen in remote areas, and there’s not a lot of people around, there’s not a lot of CCTV available,” he said. “There’s limited witnesses, usually because people go into the bush, whether it’s in the metro area or in regional WA. “You can go into a small park or some bushland, and you’re unseen for a certain amount of time. “It’s very important that the public get involved — any information is good information. They might think it’s small and not related, but it’s worth telling Crime Stoppers, because we can then analyse that and filter out the information we need.” On October 9, videos sent to police by the public showed a man allegedly lighting fires on the side of Welshpool Road in Lesmurdie, leading police directly to an arrest. Det-Sen. Sgt Foley said the incident was a good reminder that public information was crucial to arson investigations. “There is a reward up to $25,000 for information leading to the conviction of an offender for an arson offense,” he said. “I can say that people have been successful in obtaining rewards through that system. “People are very community-orientated out there, and they do provide information, and whether they want to claim a reward or not is up to them. “But generally, we do get good information through Crime Stoppers during the bushfire season, because people realise that the dangers to property and livelihoods and themselves is there, especially if they live in the area.” Det-Sen. Sgt Foley said it was still near impossible to determine what was ahead — or why people started suspicious fires. “I wouldn’t comment on that, on why they do it, because there’s probably a number of reasons. We’re more focused on the investigative side to solve that crime, rather than looking into the reasons why, because those reasons could be a number of things,” he said. “There’s a lot of factors (that cause fires), obviously environmental factors, the heat, the dryness of the soil, the dryness of the bush and the vegetation and all that sort of thing, how much rain we’ve had for the winter. “There’s a lot of factors come into play in regards to whether there’s the fuel out there in the bush to really create large bushfires versus small bushfires. It’s very hard to forecast.”

The West Australian exclusiveWA Police arson squad launch Strike Force Vulcan for three-months across summer bushfire season

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WA Police arson squad launch Strike Force Vulcan for three-months across summer bushfire season