Police are investigating a ‘suspicious’ fire in Sunshine North that burned six hectares of grassland.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokeswoman Meg Rayner said that despite being near an industrial area, the fire was contained to vacant land nearby and no neighbouring properties were threatened.
Firefighters were called to the incident at Bunnett Street about 7.30pm on Sunday, February 8, and contained the fire within 35 minutes.
Crews remained on scene for several hours to ensure there were no flare-ups.
The fire has been deemed suspicious and police are investigating.
MFB figures show that of the 648 fires attended by firefighters in Brimbank between February last year and January this year, more than 170 were deemed suspicious.
However, it was an electrical fault that sparked a fire at a Keilor Downs property last Wednesday.
Firefighters were called to the vacant Heysham Place house about 8pm after a smoke alarm alerted neighbours.
Smoke and flames were belching from the two-storey brick unit, which is the middle one of three, when firefighters arrived.
The fire took 25 minutes to bring under control and was contained to the lounge room on the lower level.
Commander David Woods praised the efforts of the firefighters in ensuring the fire’s spread was minimised.
Extensive smoke damage throughout the unit has made the property uninhabitable for its five occupants.
