by Dogwatcher » Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:32 am
From Adelaidenow:
THE man accused of starting one of the deadly Victorian bushfires was a member of a country fire brigade whose members cheated death fighting the blaze.
Brendan Sokaluk, 39, of Churchill, this morning was remanded in custody after a magistrate lifted a suppression order banning publication of his identity.
Sokaluk has been charged with one count of arson causing death, one count of intentionally lighting a bushfire and one count of possessing child pornography after detectives arrested him over the Churchill fire, which killed 21 people.
The arson charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years, with the bushfire charge carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years.
He did not appear at today's hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
According to The Australian, Sokaluk joined the local Country Fire Authority brigade in the 1980s.
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Chief Police Commissioner Christine Nixon this morning urged Victorians not to threaten the safety of Sokaluk.
"Coming to court and protesting is not an appropriate thing to do," she said.
"Obviously, we will make sure this person is well protected.
"We hope that we don't have to deal with a gang of people who are angry and concerned about this arrest. We know people are.
"We will make sure he is protected and can go before the justice system, as he should, and be dealt with through that process."
Ms Nixon said police arson detectives were still working around the clock investigating fires around the state, including blazes that wiped out the towns of Marysville and Kinglake.
"Our teams are working hard ... We hope to be able to come to some conclusions about that fire (Marysville), particularly, in the not too distant future," she said.
"People need to be very vigilant, we need to be aware of what's happening. If things look strange, call police.
"It might be quite minor, but for us it can be a part of a whole intelligence."
Meanwhile, speculation that the death toll from Victoria's horror bushfires could reach 300 is based on rumour rather than fact, the state's emergency services commissioner says.
The death toll from the devastating fires remains at 181 and about 70 people are estimated to be seriously injured.
The number of fatalities is expected to rise as the examination of burnt-out buildings is completed, Bruce Esplin said.
But the commissioner refused to speculate whether the toll would reach 300 when asked about that figure on ABC Television.
"There's been so many rumours circulating about buildings with lots and lots of bodies in, and when they've been tracked down they've been found to have no substance," Mr Esplin said.
It was a difficult time for police, the Country Fire Authority), other fire services, and defence personnel doing the "horrible" task of searching through the buildings.
People needed to focus on the fact that each death was an individual and "not just large numbers".
Today is the 26th anniversary of the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires and, Mr Esplin says, survivors of last weekend's Black Saturday inferno can draw strength from that history.
"Much as it might be hard to contemplate now, the communities that were wiped out in Ash Wednesday have rebuilt, and the communities that have been affected by these fires will rebuild too," he said.
"The challenge is to rebuild for the future, not rebuild as they were in the past."
Communities had to be stronger, tougher and safer going forward, he said.
You're my only friend, and you don't even like me.
We must learn from this.
