Arson Unit charge four men over deliberately lit house fire in Fairfield West

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Arson Unit charge four men over deliberately lit house fire in Fairfield West

Thursday, 02 May 2024 04:18:19 AM

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Arson Unit detectives have charged four men over an allegedly deliberately lit house fire in Fairfield West, which left two people injured.

Just after 2.10am on Saturday 23 March 2024, emergency services were called to King Street in Fairfield West following reports of a house fire.

NSW Fire & Rescue attended and extinguished the blaze, which destroyed the property.

The occupants of the home - a 28-year-old man and 33-year-old woman - were awoken by the blaze and treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for second and third degree burns to their hands and lower bodies, believed to have been sustained as they fled the burning house.

The pair were taken to hospital in serious conditions and have both since been released.

Officers attached to Fairfield City Police Area Command established a crime scene before the matter was referred to State Crime Command's Financial Crimes Squad Arson Unit under Strike Force Booerie.

Initial inquiries revealed the fire was deliberately lit; however, as the occupants of the home had only moved into the house less than a year ago, it is believed they were targeted in a case of mistaken identity.

Further investigations led detectives to believe the fire was linked to another allegedly deliberately lit fire at a barber shop on The Horsley Drive in Wetherill Park three days earlier on Wednesday 20 March 2024.

Following extensive inquiries - including a public appeal for information - about 6.10am yesterday (Wednesday 1 May 2024), strike force detectives executed search warrants in Chester Hill, Rhodes and Rydalmere.

At the Chester Hill address, police arrested two men aged 25 and 21.

The men were taken to Burwood Police Station, where the 25-year-old was charged with destroy/damage property with intent to endanger life, destroy etc property in company use fire etc >$5000, possess housebreaking implements and fail to comply digital evidence access order direction. He was refused bail and appeared before Bankstown Local Court yesterday.

The 21-year-old was charged with destroy/damage property with intent to endanger life and fail to comply digital evidence access order direction. He was refused bail and appeared before Bankstown Local Court yesterday.

At the search warrant in Rhodes, detectives arrested two men aged 25 and 23.

They were taken to Burwood Police Station, where the 25-year-old was charged with destroy/damage property with intent to endanger life, destroy etc property in company use fire etc >$5000, two counts of possess housebreaking implements, and fail to comply digital evidence access order direction. He was refused bail to appear in Burwood Local Court today (Thursday 2 May 2024).

The 23-year-old was charged with destroy etc property in company use fire etc >$5000, possess housebreaking implements and owner not disclose identity of driver/passenger. He was refused bail and appeared in Burwood Local Court yesterday.

Police will allege in court the fires were deliberately lit as a retaliation to a shooting incident in Fairfield West on Sunday 17 March 2024.

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