Alleged arson filmed on camera

A 17 year old boy has been charged after a fire caused extensive damage to Cowra High School’s administration building on Monday night, with police alleging the former student deliberately started the blaze before filming the incident and sharing footage on social media. Emergency services were called to the Dowell Street school at approximately 7.10pm on Monday, July 20, following multiple Triple Zero calls reporting a structure fire. A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said crews quickly located the fire inside an office within the school’s administration building and worked to contain the blaze before it could spread further. Firefighters contained the blaze to the administration area within around 30 minutes. “Firefighters located a fire in an administration building, in an office in an administration building,” they said. “It took about 30 minutes to initially control that fire, but they were able to primarily contain it to that area of the building, to the office area.” While the flames were restricted to the administration area, smoke spread through other parts of the school, with crews remaining on scene for several hours to remove smoke from the building. “There were reports of smoke through the remainder of the building as well, and we worked to remove smoke from that building,” the spokesperson said. Firefighters remained at Cowra High School until approximately 10.30pm before handing the scene over to police, who had commenced an investigation into the cause of the fire. Acting Inspector Adam Tonkin from Chifley Police District said officers established a crime scene and began investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. “Shortly after Fire and Rescue extinguished the blaze, which caused extensive damage to an admin office within Cowra High School, police commenced an investigation," Acting Inspector Tonkin said. Following inquiries, police attended a Cowra address at around 10pm where they arrested a 17 year old boy. The teenager, who police allege is a former student of the school, was taken to Cowra Police Station and charged. Police allege the boy broke into the school premises before deliberately lighting the fire and recording the incident. It is further alleged the footage was uploaded to a social media platform while the building was burning. Police have charged the teenager with damage property by fire or explosion exceeding $15,000; committing an offence under Section 112(1) and disseminate; and break and enter with intent to destroy property valued at more than $60,000. He was refused bail and appeared before the Children’s Court on Tuesday, 21 July. Acting Inspector Tonkin said police considered the alleged behaviour a serious matter, particularly due to the danger posed by deliberately lighting fires and sharing footage online. “It’s a wholly dangerous act,” he said. “Doing anything with fire, and especially posting it, we consider a fairly serious, flagrant disregard of the law.” He said NSW Police had been working to address a growing trend of young people filming and sharing dangerous offending online. “We’re moving down the pathway of a lot of prevention and education around that," Acting Inspector Tonkin said. Police also appealed for anyone with additional footage or information relating to the incident to come forward. “If anyone does have any other CCTV footage or dashcam footage, by all means contact us here at Cowra Police,” Acting Inspector Tonkin said. The fire resulted in extensive damage to the administration building, with smoke damage also affecting adjoining classrooms and other areas within the school grounds. A full assessment of the damage is expected to continue, with the Department of Education working with the school to determine when students and staff can return. Acting Inspector Tonkin said the school had remained an active crime scene while police processed evidence before handing the site back. “It was an active crime scene as of 10am this morning,” he said. “Once a crime scene has been processed, we’ve handed back to the school and the Department of Education to make a decision.” There were no reports of injuries from the fire. Investigations into the incident remain ongoing.