Man charged in connection to car yard blaze that destroyed 19 vehicles and caused up to $500,000 in damages

The alleged arsonist who set a car yard ablaze using Molotov cocktails, causing up to $500,000 of damage, has been charged. The 39-year-old man from Thornlie was charged with criminal damage by fire following the event, which saw a blaze tear through a Welshpool car repair yard the morning of February 22. Nineteen vehicles were damaged in the fire at Speedline auto repair and Ecu tune service businesses on Colin Jamieson Drive, which sent thick smoke across Perth’s inner eastern suburbs. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services alerted police to the fire about 5.45am, before managing to limit the flames to the front of the premises. The man will face Perth Magistrates Court on April 17. The intense fire melted rubber from wheels, left the shells of multiple cars charred and burnt and blackened the front wall of the business. Among the mess left behind was a red muscle car that had its bonnet melted down to the engine, while the back of a BMW station wagon was left in a state of ruin and a Hino truck took extensive damage to its rear. Other vehicles were already damaged wrecks. A total of 17 fire trucks attended the fire.