POLICE say a man is assisting them with their inquiries into two deliberately lit fires in Swan Hill’s CBD on Thursday night.
Sometime between 11pm and 11.40pm, a wooden pallet was set alight at the back of the Bartalotta’s Hot Bread Bakery on Campbell Street, quickly engulfing a stand-alone coolroom.
Around the same time a bin full of cardboard was set alight behind Cheap as Chips on the corner of Beveridge and McCrae streets.
Country Fire Authority crews rushed to both fires, but it was too late to save the bakery coolroom. Early estimates suggest damage and losses of up to $20,000.
Detective Brian Taylor said a man was assisting them with inquiries yesterday.
He urged anyone with any information to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
“The fires are suspicious and believed to be related,” he said.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Monday’s Guardian (April 6).
