Arson resolution

By Shaun Inguanzo
A DELIBERATELY lit fire at a Keysborough nursery has left its owner with a damage bill of $80,000 and a New Year’s resolution to catch the arsonists responsible.
Dandenong police detectives are now appealing for anyone with information on two young boys aged between eight and 10 years old who were seen by the property’s neighbours to be loitering around the building prior to, and immediately after the fire erupted.
The fire destroyed an old farm house used as a staff lunch room at the Sunshine Coast Wholesale Nursery at 151 Church Road, Keysborough, about 6pm on Monday.
Nursery owner David Rourke, 50, lives in Box Hill and said he was in shock when the nursery’s neighbours phoned him about the blaze.
“They said it was badly ablaze and would be burnt to the ground by the time I got there,” Mr Rourke said.
“And they weren’t wrong.”
Keysborough CFA captain Lee Bostock said the fire was well alight when crews arrived to extinguish it.
The old aluminium-clad building and lack of a nearby water hydrant made it difficult to fight the fire, Capt Bostock said.
“We had to use 200 metres of hose (to reach the hydrant) so it was a bit of a struggle,” he said.
Capt Bostock said about 20 firefighters battled the blaze to keep it from spreading to the nearby nursery buildings and its embers from sparking fires in dry paddocks.
The burnt out shell of what was once a staff room will have to be bulldozed, Mr Rourke said.
Mr Rourke said the old farmhouse was uninsured and would cost $80,000 to rebuild.
The Keysborough businessman said the fire was the second consecutive New Year attack the business had suffered.
Last year vandals ransacked his office, smashing windows and throwing computers across the room.
Given drought and tight water restrictions, the blaze has resulted in added pressure on Mr Rourke’s business.
“Water restrictions are already making life tough and this is definitely not what we needed,” he said.
Police have released witness descriptions of the two boys believed to have lit the fire.
They are both aged between eight and 10 years old.
One boy was seen of Caucasian appearance with blond, short, spiky hair, wearing a blue T-shirt, light coloured long shorts and runners.
The other is described as being of Aboriginal or Islander appearance with olive skin, wearing dark coloured long shorts, no top, and no shoes.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Dandenong CIU Detective Senior Constable Nigel Fox on 9767 7487.