Police are on the hunt for those responsible for a fire which engulfed a vacant community complex in Berala Street Kooringal, near Ziegler Avenue, just after 7.30pm on Tuesday.
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Quickly taking hold, the fire took 25 firefighters an hour to extinguish the blaze as nearby residents evacuated their homes.
“There were many people there at the time and many witnesses did come forward when they saw the actual fire engulf the building and we are grateful they went out of their way and made calls to us,” Wagga Crime Manager Detective Inspector Darren Cloake said.
Police have confirmed some of the footage taken by concerned onlookers may include vision of the fire being lit.
“We will seek to identify those persons responsible...and hopefully hold them to account for their actions that caused substantial damage to this building,” Detective Inspector Darren Cloake said.
“I will ask and plead for people that do have footage to bring it to our attention and we will seek to identify those responsible,” he said.
The damage bill has already climbed to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“At close estimates its well in excess of $200,000. I don’t think the monetary value itself represents the total damage to this area,” Detective Inspector Cloake said.
“This building was earmarked as a community building where immunisations and other community based services were used. That damage has caused a lot of disruption.”
