The moment an arsonist set a Sydney salon ablaze, and then also inadvertently set himself on fire, has been captured on CCTV, as police appeal for information to help identify the man.
New South Wales police released a video of the arson attack on Monday, July 7.
“It is clear that we need to identify who those people are, because not only are they a danger to the community, they are obviously a danger to themselves,” Detective acting Superintendent Luke Scott said at a press conference on Monday, July 7.
The footage from inside the Burwood, Sydney, salon in the early hours of June 13 shows two men forcing entry and spreading accelerant around the shop.
At one point, the second man slips on his own accelerant. The first man then ignites the blaze from the entryway, with a large fireball erupting and the fire rapidly spreading through the shop.
But the man did not get a clean getaway.
Another camera angle shows him running up Nicholl Lane, engulfed in flames.
At about 5am, Fire and Rescue crews were called to extinguish a blaze, with residents of the building above the salon evacuated as a precaution. No injuries were reported, and the shop sustained only minor damage.
What remains unclear is whether the arsonist was injured when he set himself alight.
“It’s quite clear when you watch this CCTV, we are not dealing with professionals, we are dealing with amateurs,” Scott said.
“I urge anybody in the community who identifies who those people are, knows who those people are or suspects that one of their friends or family may have caught fire on June 13 to come forward.”
Watch the video below.
