Man drives away from alleged arson attack on fire in Brisbane

An orange glow could be seen inside the blue Mazda that fled from the scene of a suspected arson attack in Brisbane. Photo / 9News

The wild moment a man tried to drive away from the scene of a suspected arson attack while on fire has been captured on camera.

Footage shows a blue Mazda speeding away from a Capalaba carpark outside Brisbane on Thursday night, the interior ablaze and emanating an unholy orange glow.

As the car turns on to a main road, the driver can barely be seen through the open window as flames appear to completely engulf the driver’s seat.

Describing the event, a witness told 9News: “He jumped back in his car, while on fire, drove off, on fire, into oncoming traffic, on fire.”

The vehicle was found dumped at a park about 1.5km from the carpark.

Police took a 25-year-old man into custody at a car wash in Deception Bay on Friday afternoon following investigations into the suspicious fire.

He was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital, where he is being treated for injuries allegedly sustained during the arson attack and remains under police guard.

An employee and a customer were inside the targeted shop at the time of the alleged attack but were able to escape unharmed.

Neighbouring business owners said this was not the first time the shop had been targeted.

A worker at a nearby shop rushed to the scene after hearing shouting and a loud bang and, together with a cleaner, used fire extinguishers to stop the blaze from spreading.

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