THREE vehicles were torched as Wanganui firebugs came to light early yesterday.
City firefighters were called to a paddock near Heads Rd after a van and a truck were set alight about 6.15am yesterday morning
About an hour later, a third vehicle was torched at Upokongaro near the intersection of SH3 and
Kaiwhaiki Rd.
A single engine attended the first blaze, with an additional tanker required to quell the Upokangaro fire.
It is not known if the fires were related.
Wanganui police Sergeant Tim Walker said the vehicles torched near Heads Rd were wrecks, and police were not sure who owned them.
The third vehicle had been abandoned and was due to be towed away.
"That car had been dumped out there and was on the list to be towed away by the district council, which can sometimes take a few days."
He said police would not be looking further into the blazes, because there were no strong leads.
"We won't be investigating them unless something comes to hand."
Although police would "do their best" to identify the suspects and owners of the vehicles, there were no eye-witnesses and evidence at the scene was limited.
Fire service station officer Jemal Weston said it was lucky the fires did not burn out of control.
The blazes at Heads Rd spread to nearby grass, but firefighters managed to contain them before any serious damage was caused.
He said burning cars were a waste of firefighters' time and particularly dangerous in summer conditions.
"If someone sees a car burning, they should call us as soon as possible because it is getting dry now and grass will catch alight pretty easily."
The fires were "a concern", and people needed to use common sense, he said.
"We were going to them every second night there for a while and then it slowed down, but we're getting a few more now the weather's starting to get dry."
Firefighters also attended a third fire in Peakes Rd.
Mr Weston said the people involved "did not have the required permit", but would not be fined.
"People should consider it a reminder that they need permits to light even basic fires."
