Fire near Albany Senior High School, residential college accused charged by police within hours of blaze

Police have made quick work of an investigation into two fires near a school and student boarding house on Tuesday, charging a 66-year-old man who is alleged to have lit both blazes within just a few hours. About 11.30am firefighters were called to a report of a fire near the oval at the rear of Albany Senior High School that threatened the infrastructure of Albany Residential College in Mt Clarence. Four trucks from Albany Fire and Rescue Service and volunteer brigades attended, bringing the blaze in the dense bushland under control within 10 minutes and fully extinguishing it by 12.44pm. The fire was reignited about 4pm, but it was under control and extinguished by crews an hour later. Following an investigation into the circumstances around the two blazes, local police identified a 66-year-old man from Northam as a person of interest and arrested him late on Tuesday. He was remanded in custody and charged with two counts of wilfully lighting a fire likely to injure or damage. He is due to face Albany Magistrates Court on the charges on Wednesday afternoon. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. The latest fires come little more than a year after water bombers had to be used to bring a suspicious fire under control in Mt Clarence. That fire resulted in DFES issuing a watch and act alert in an area bounded by Burt Street to the north, Thomas Street to the east, Hill Street to the south and west, and Suffolk Street to the west.