Fine for igniting roadside fire in Albany to draw attention for broken-down car

A 20-year-old man started a scrub fire to get attention after his car broke down in Albany. The Albany Magistrate’s Court was told last Thursday Ethan Craig Dowdell used a lighter to start the scrub fire on Nanarup Road between 10.45pm and 11.15pm on May 1. Prosecuting Sgt Alan Dean said the fire, ignited during burn restrictions, engulfed 15sqm of vegetation before two nearby property owners arrived to extinguish it. But as the property owners put out the fire, Dowdell decided to flee the scene on foot. Magistrate Raelene Johnston described the offence as a “serious matter” but said there was nothing on Dowdell’s record to suggest it was in his character to go around starting fires. She said she accepted it was a “genuine, badly thought-out plan”. “A reasonable person would have thought (the fire) could have gone unnoticed,” Ms Johnston said. Dowdell was handed a $900 fine.