Forest fire charges

By Casey Neill
A QUICK thinking bushwalker might have saved the hills from disaster by alerting police to what they thought was someone lighting a fire in Sherbrooke last Friday.
Garron Blair, 26, yesterday (Monday) pleaded not guilty to lighting two fires in the Dandenong Ranges National Park about 9am on 8 January.
The homeless man was that afternoon denied bail at an out of sessions hearing at Belgrave Police Station but did not apply for release when he faced Ringwood Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
He will remain in custody until he returns to the court on 23 February.
Lilydale CIU Detective Senior Constable Ian Marr said the incident could have been “nasty”.
“We are talking about high fire danger areas,” he said.
He said the fires were small but had “a lot of potential”.
“The vigilance of this person today has managed to bring this to our attention very fast,” he said.
“We ask that people continue to be vigilant in the future.”
Det Sen Const Marr told the bail hearing a member of the public saw Mr Blair tending to a small fire on a park bench near Sherbrooke Falls at 8.55am.
They called police when he ran from the scene, sparking a search involving 24 officers, a police helicopter, Department of Sustainability and Environment and Yarra Ranges Council.
Det Sen Const Marr said police found Mr Blair about 400 metres away at O’Donohue Picnic Ground within an hour.
Mr Blair told police he had started a fire at the picnic area, but denied lighting the earlier blaze. He was also in possession of several lighters.
Police charged him with four counts of lighting a fire, two counts of conduct endangering life and one of failing to answer bail.
Mr Blair had failed to attend Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 7 January after he was granted bail in October on an unrelated charge.
He faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of conduct endangering life. Lighting a fire carries a maximum two year jail term or $11,682 fine.
Det Sen Const Marr told the bail hearing Mr Blair was a flight risk because he had nowhere to go and had previously broken bail.
But Mr Blair said he had mixed up his court date and missed the hearing unintentionally.