Detective Senior Sergeant Nik Leigh confirmed this morning that the man was facing a charge of wilfully setting fire to property knowing that danger to life was likely to ensue.
He appeared in Dunedin District Court yesterday, and was remanded in custody until his next appearance on December 16.
“The charge relates to the deliberate fire at a vacant Lees St property,” Leigh said.
“It followed a fire at a vacant building on Harrow St about hour earlier, while vegetation was set alight on Brighton Rd about 1.20am.”
Investigations into the other fires are ongoing and police thanked the community for the information provided so far.
“The arrest is a significant development for us; the investigation team has been chasing down a lot of leads but there’s still work for us to do,” Leigh said.
“We’re grateful for those people who have provided information, but we still need to hear from anyone with information who has yet to reach out.
“If you have any details that could help our enquiries, please contact us.”
Leigh said while nobody was injured in the fires, they were still serious incidents.
“Fire spreads incredibly quickly and it puts everyone at risk, from the public to emergency services.
“We treat these events seriously, and the arrest we’ve made in this case is a welcome development.”
