Firebug taunts family

By Shaun Inguanzo
A SPRINGVALE family says it is stranded in the neighbourhood it wants to escape after a firebug set fire to trees dangerously close to its house.
Phillip Avenue resident Domenic Pugliese said his family could not escape the wrath of the firebug, because it was locked into a rental lease.
He said the firebug had deliberately lit several paperbark trees in his street over the past two months, and had already caused the family to evacuate their home on one occasion.
In that instance, Mr Pugliese said he evacuated his family from the house after believing it had caught fire, only to discover it was a blazing tree just metres outside his house, sending burning embers on to the property.
“(The firebug) has lit several trees not far from my home,” he said.
“The first time it happened, we woke up, it was only five metres from the front door, on the nature strip, and the wind was blowing embers on to the house.”
Since the January incident, Mr Pugliese said his family had been coming to terms with the trauma caused by the fire threat.
“After the first episode my partner is only just starting to sleep well,” he said.
“We are actually renting, we are stuck in a lease at the moment…if we had a choice and there were grounds to be able to break the lease, we would.”
Springvale CFA fire officer Barry Nash said it was common for paperbark trees – like those in Mr Pugliese’s street – to be lit by people, but there had not been a pattern that concerned firefighters.
“All (the family) can do is probably contact the council to express their concern,” he said.
City of Greater Dandenong regulatory services manager Peter Shelton said council already had a strategy in place, titled Leafy Legacy, which included the removal and replacement of paperbark trees ‘over time’ because they ‘are no longer a desirable species’.
In the interim, Mr Shelton said the council would attempt to prosecute the offender, if caught, for breaches to its local laws, but would prefer the police were involved.
“The police could charge offenders with wilful or criminal damage, both of which carry stronger penalties than local laws,” he said.
Mr Pugliese said he had not yet contacted police to file a complaint, but had noticed police units attended the fires.