Fire investigator calls for security cameras in wake of suspicious fires

The Clifton Hill fire. Photo / Supplied

A leading fire investigator in Christchurch says security cameras could help catch arsonists on the Port Hills.

It comes after a number of fires on the Port Hills over the past few days, including a scrub fire which led to the evacuation of 16 homes in Clifton on Tuesday, one in Hillsborough on Friday, which burned about 20ha, and four suspicious blazes last Wednesday.

There have been up to 10 suspicious fires over the past 10 days.

The Port Hills fire in 2017 destroyed nine homes and two other structures and burned through 1600ha. The cause of this fire has never been determined.

Leading fire investigator Ken Legat said CCTV cameras could be positioned on access roads to the Port Hills and on the hills themselves.

The cameras would record vehicle movements that could provide leads to the police investigating suspicious fires.

But Christchurch City Council and emergency services appear not to be in any hurry to consider or install security cameras.

A city council spokesman said it had no plans to install cameras currently.

But he added "it's not something we're ruling out altogether".

Canterbury District Commander Superintendent John Price said he would need more information to say for sure if he supports cameras being installed on the Port Hills but in general terms "police support any tools, any capability that enhances and improves safety in our community".

The aftermath of a fire on Summit Rd last week. Photo / Geoff Sloan

Fire and Emergency New Zealand would not comment on security cameras.

Legat, a former police detective, works for Fire Investigation Services Ltd, a private company specialising in fire cause investigations primarily for insurance companies, the legal community and other private parties.
He says footage plays a key role in finding witnesses to fires or perpetrators when they are deliberately lit.

"CCTV footage is extremely important in aiding our investigations.

"There's no doubt that if there was CCTV footage cameras on the points of access for the vehicles, it would certainly help making identifying of witnesses a lot easier."

The city council spokesman said: "There are no CCTV cameras monitoring the access roads to the Port Hills. The Christchurch City Council has investigated installing cameras, however in most circumstances the area was deemed to be unsuitable due to a lack of data and power connections."

Legat said it is ultimately up to the city council to decide if it wants to install cameras and he understands it has to weigh up cost.

There are currently 150 city council-installed CCTV cameras in Christchurch which are used by police to investigate crimes. Most of these are in the central city.
As well as this, 445 traffic cameras have been installed by the city council.

The price of installing a CCTV camera can range from $6000 to more than of $30,000.

Meanwhile, a restricted fire season has been imposed across Canterbury and a permit may be required to light a fire outside.

Fireworks have also been banned in a number of locations, including the Port Hills, Bottle Lake Forest Park and Akaroa. FENZ says it will clamp down on anyone using them.

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