Playing with fire

IRVING Road residents whose cars were set alight on Monday night say it is not the first time their street has been targeted.
Kerry and Derek, who did not want their last names used, were watching Channel 7’s Revenge when a neighbour knocked on their window and alerted them to the fire outside their Pakenham home at 9.35pm.
Detective Senior Constable Jason Fritzlaff from Cardinia CIU said three cars were damaged in the Irving Road area on Monday night.
He said offenders poured plumbing glue over the cars and then set two of the cars alight causing significant damage.
The glue on Derek’s sedan was set alight and Kerry’s car was covered in what she said looked like a plumber’s glue.
“Andrew from next door is in the fire brigade,” Derek said.
“He was told the fire was at Atkins Road and Irving Road, he looked to the right and then realised it was just next door so he knocked on our window and said your car is on fire, grab a hose.
“By the time the fire trucks arrived it was pretty much out.”
A neighbour up the road in Rachael Court was also targeted. Derek has lived in the street for 11 years and said it was unfortunate that drivers were using it as a thoroughfare and hooned down it to avoid traffic lights on Army Road and the highway.
“Up until the estate opened up it was a quiet street because it stopped just up here,” Derek said.
“And as soon as it opened up, people were driving a million miles an hour along Irving Road.
“That was something that was brought up by people (on Monday night).”
Kerry and Derek said the emergency services, the police and the fire crews should be commended for their efforts on Monday night.
Derek said he couldn’t fault them and how helpful they were when the call came through from a concerned neighbour in Costa Boda Boulevard.
“We have to complement them,” Kerry said.
“The fire brigade arrived first, there were four police cars, a sniffer dog and a helicopter.”
Some of the residents gathered in the street on Monday night and discussed how much it had changed since the new estate opened, while others threatened to leave if incidents continued in the area.
Kerry’s car has been targeted a number of times and she said this was the “last straw” while Derek said he was starting to make plans to try and get their cars in the driveway and off the road.
“There’s a lot of people who park their cars not far from their house and if they were going to torch cars closer to houses in the middle of the night and it turns into a car into a house fire – then we’d be in trouble,” Derek said.
Police are appealing for witnesses to contact either Detective Senior Constable O’Neil on 5945 2557 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.