Deliberate Timaru Dumpster Fires Surge, Police Say

Police are investigating a series of dumpster fires in Timaru early Friday that they say appear to have been deliberately set on.

Seven wheeled containers were set ablaze on Pages, Spur, Brockley and Rosebrook roads between 12.10 and 1.12.

Detective Sergeant Richard Quested of Timaru said the fires are related and appear to have been deliberately set.

A spokesperson for Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) said the fires were all similar in nature and no damage was caused.

The spokesman said the fires “were turned over to the police for their follow-up, but unless some miraculous information comes up, there probably isn’t much they can do about it.”

A motorist who came across one of the burning containers in the middle of the road next to the Gleniti golf course on Friday morning said they “thought it was a car [fire] because it illuminated the road a lot ”.

A roadworks cone was also set on fire on Spur Rd. Highway workers said it was the second cone in two nights to catch fire.

The incidents on Friday follow a series of recent suspicious fires in the Timaru district, including a fire that destroyed the Pareora Rugby Club building last month and fires in a ute on Beverley Rd, a car and 500 meters of hedge in Adair Rd south of Timaru, and a playground. team at Tweedy Park.

However, Quested said police had yet to establish a link between last night’s fires and the others in recent weeks.

Quested encouraged residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity, especially in the rural areas on the outskirts of Timaru.

Police urged anyone who has not yet reported a recent fire or who has information to call 105, citing file number 201002/8275.