The CFA and police are investigating a suspicious fire at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong on Wednesday morning.
CFA district eight operations officer Paul Carrigg said firefighers were called to the Foster Street church about 2.30am.
“We understand that one of the first callers to Triple Zero was the priest, who lives in a detached building, after allegedly hearing smoke alarms sounding,” he said.
It took 40 firefighters around an hour to control the fires. Eleven crews attended.
The church is said to be the site of a number of sexual assaults committed by now deceased priest Kevin O’Donnell.
The priest assaulted a number of children in the church dating back to the later 1950s.
One fire lit inside church, another in storage room. Police investigating if fire linked to St James church fire pic.twitter.com/FZIqYuiIYr
— Yvette Gray (@yvettegray3AW) March 31, 2015
There’s been an arson attack at St Mary’s Catholic Church at Dandenong this morning @3AW693 pic.twitter.com/y0yGsXRqf8
— Yvette Gray (@yvettegray3AW) March 31, 2015
