A 17-year-old volunteer firefighter has been charged with deliberately lighting multiple bushfires in Sydney’s west.
The teenager was arrested early yesterday in the lower Blue Mountains as part of a police investigation targeting bushfire arsonists.
Strike Force Tronto was set up to investigate a series of suspicious fires, with detectives identifying a pattern of deliberately lit blazes in the greater Wallacia area between June 23 and September 7.
With the help of the NSW Rural Fire Service, police identified the teen as a suspect. He allegedly lit several fires and then responded to each one in his role as a volunteer firefighter.
The teenager has been charged with three counts of intentionally starting a fire and two counts of false representation. He was refused bail and appeared at a children’s court yesterday.
Police are continuing their investigation and are urging anyone with information about deliberately lit fires to contact Crime Stoppers.
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