A man has been arrested over the suspicious fire at a heritage-listed racecourse grandstand.
Police arrested the 51-year-old on Tuesday afternoon, less than 12 hours after a major blaze tore through the Caulfield Racecourse Norman Robinson stand, resulting in potentially millions of dollars in damage.
The man, whose last known address was in Wangaratta, was arrested at Mordialloc Railway Station after reports of several grassfires in the area.
Investigators are probing whether the grassfires and grandstand fire are linked.
Fire Rescue Victoria responded to the suspicious blaze on Station Street, Caulfield East, in Melbourne’s southeast at 6.20am on Tuesday.
Incident controller Dennis Smith said the fire caused “significant damage” to the heritage-listed Norman Robinson stand and originated in a bar on the first level.
“It is timber, so it burned pretty well, also there’s a bar behind, The 1876 bar, that has also been impacted by this,” he told reporters.
“As far as the grandstands on either side, there is a little bit of water damage but no fire (damage) thankfully … but that stand itself is significantly impacted.
“I’m not a builder but from what I’ve seen this morning the damage will be in the millions.”
Mr Smith said desperate early efforts from 17 crews and more than 65 firefighters stopped the blaze spreading further.
“There are a lot of residents around here, but thankfully the wind wasn’t significant so it didn’t really impact (the surrounding area) as much,” he said.
Melbourne Racing Club chairman John Kanga said contingency plans were in place, with a race scheduled for Wednesday moved to Mornington.
“We are gutted as a club, but we are keen to rebuild,” he told reporters.
Mr Kanga said the damaged areas are among racegoers’ favourites.
“Both bars are very well frequented … I can assure (members) that we will rebuild it as good or if not better than what it was,” he said.
A Melbourne Racing Club spokeswoman said the extent of the damage was being determined and investigators, surveyors and health officials were carrying out inspections on Tuesday afternoon.
Firefighters’ response was escalated to a third alarm, which indicates a significant blaze, and crews got the fire under control about 7am.
One firefighter suffered a minor hand injury and was treated in hospital.
Victoria Police have established a crime scene at the racecourse and are investigating.
An advice level warning was in place in the nearby suburbs of Ashburton, Carnegie, Caulfield, Caulfield East, Caulfield North, Caulfield South, Glen Huntly, Glen Iris, Malvern, Malvern East, Murrumbeena and Ormond.
The racecourse is in the middle of a $300 million redevelopment, first announced in 2019, including works to the Norman Robinson stand.
Melbourne Football Club also plans to build a training and administrative base at the racecourse by 2028.
In December, the MRC agreed to sell a $195 million parcel of land at the site to Mount Scopus Memorial College for the school to build a new campus on.
“It is timber, so it burned pretty well, also there’s a bar behind, The 1876 bar, that has also been impacted by this,” he told reporters.
“As far as the grandstands on either side, there is a little bit of water damage but no fire (damage) thankfully.
“But that stand itself is significantly impacted.”
Mr Smith said desperate early efforts from 17 fire crews stopped the blaze spreading any further.
“There are a lot of residents around here, but thankfully the wind wasn’t significant so it didn’t really impact (the surrounding area) as much,” he said.
Chairman of the Melbourne Racing Club John Kanga said contingency plans were in place for a race scheduled on Wednesday.
“In my perspective, it’s unlikely (to go ahead at Caulfield) and we would probably move to Mornington tomorrow,” he told reporters.
“We are gutted as a club, but we are keen to rebuild.”
Mr Kanga said the damaged areas are among racegoers’ favourites.
“Both bars are very well frequented … I can assure (members) that we will rebuild it as good or if not better than what it was,” he said.
The response was escalated to a third alarm, which indicates a significant fire, with multiple crews battling the blaze before getting it under control around 7am.
One firefighter suffered a minor hand injury in the blaze and was treated in hospital.
Victoria Police have established a crime scene at the racecourse.
“Police are investigating a suspicious fire at the Caulfield Racecourse,” a statement said.
“No one was injured and the area was evacuated safely.”
An advice level warning was in place in the nearby suburbs of Ashburton, Carnegie, Caulfield, Caulfield East, Caulfield North, Caulfield South, Glen Huntly, Glen Iris, Malvern, Malvern East, Murrumbeena and Ormond.
Traffic in the area surrounding the racecourse is expected to be affected.
