A man has been arrested after a series of fires in Melbourne’s east, including one that gutted a historic grandstand at Caulfield Racecourse. Dozens of firefighters managed to stop the blaze from spreading, but not before it caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
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00:00A piece of Melbourne's racing history, swallowed by flames.
00:08Thick smoke billows from the Caulfield Racecourse, engulfing the historic Norman Robinson Grandstand
00:14just after 6am.
00:16Around 70 firefighters battled the blaze, stopping it from spreading to neighbouring
00:21stands.
00:22Really good work from the initial crews, they worked really hard, aggressive attack.
00:26But the timber grandstand is gutted, so is the 1876 bar on level 2, named after the first
00:33year of racing at Caulfield, now reduced to a mangled mess of smashed glass, melted plastic
00:39and scorched timber.
00:41Historic building and there's been some damage there, but it could have been a lot worse.
00:45No horses or members of the public were injured in the blaze, but a firefighter was treated
00:50for a cut hand.
00:51As fire crews wrapped up, police set up, establishing a crime scene after the fire
00:56was deemed suspicious.
00:58Just hours later, they had a man in custody, being questioned over several fires lit in
01:03the Caulfield area throughout the day.
01:06Detectives used security vision from here at the racecourse and surrounding residents
01:11to close in on their suspect.
01:13At this stage I can confirm that there's no links to the racing industry at all.
01:19This was the only building damaged.
01:21It's a heritage used to stand, it's a very old stand and a unique stand and one of the
01:25favourite stands for all of our members, so we're gutted as a club.
01:29It's played host to crowds of racing fans for decades and it was set to cater for a
01:34race meeting tomorrow.
01:36That's been moved to Mornington.
01:38Instead of punters packing the stands, engineers will assess the damage, operators vowing the
01:43historic stand will have a grand future.
01:46We will rebuild it as good, if not better, than what it was.
01:51For more information visit www.fema.gov