Mt Ettalong fire may have been started by fireworks
A fire on the Mt Ettalong point hairpin bend shortly before midnight on Friday, December 29, may well have been started by fireworks, according to the Pearl Beach Rural Fire Brigade.
The brigade was "activated" along with Fire and Rescue NSW Station 340 Umina and The Bays Rural Fire Brigade with a report of bush alight inside the hairpin on Patonga Dr.
The Fire and Rescue crew were first on scene and extinguished the fire, which with moderate conditions had not spread significantly.
The scene was handed over to Brisbane Water Police District officers to investigate and identify the cause of the ignition.
The Pearl Beach brigade said initial reports suggested that the fire may have been started by fireworks.
The brigade had received multiple reports of the fire.
"It is far better to receive multiple reports for the same fire than for passers-by to presume it has already been called in."
It said that restrictions on the possession and use of fireworks in New South Wales were stringent.
"Unauthorised use of fireworks have the potential to cause fires and injure people, and carry large penalties - fines of almost $40,000 and one year in prison."
SOURCE:
Social media, 30 Dec 2023
Pearl Beach Brigade, NSW RFS