Over the Kings Park and Jacob's Ladder bushfires in Perth, police have arrested a guy

 Over the Kings Park and Jacob's Ladder bushfires in Perth, police have arrested a guy

A 41-year-old man has been charged by police with arson in connection with several fires that destroyed vegetation in Kings Park and downtown Perth.

Key points: On Thursday, once the fire was suppressed, the guy was taken into custody close to Jacob's Ladder.

Jacob's Ladder is still blocked as investigators evaluate any damage. He is also accused of starting four fires in the Kings Park neighborhood last week.

In the most recent fire, which broke out on Thursday afternoon near the well-known Jacob's Ladder in West Perth, occupants of high-rise buildings had to evacuate as flames swiftly shot up a steep slope.

On five counts of intentionally starting a fire that might have resulted in harm or property damage, Ross Cameron Males made a short appearance in the Perth Magistrates Court.

It is claimed that on October 24 and yesterday, he set four fires.

He was left in detention until his next scheduled appearance the following week, and he was not obliged to enter a plea to any of the allegations.

He applied for legal assistance, the court was informed, and he plans to request bail on his next appearance.

The individual is said to have set fire to tall grass on the edge next to a nursing home on Williams Road in Nedlands on Tuesday afternoon, October 24.

The individual allegedly set fire to vegetation three more times in the Kings Park Botanical Gardens later that day.

The individual, who doesn't have a permanent residence, was taken into custody on Thursday shortly before 6 p.m. when firemen were putting out the fire near Jacob's Ladder. 

The guy is scheduled to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday, where he will face five charges of intentionally starting a fire that might cause harm or property damage.

According to the police, the maximum sentence for the offense was 20 years in jail.

Jacob's Ladder was closed till further notice, according to the City of Perth, while they evaluated any damage to the 242 steps.

The police issued a warning, stating that they would use all of their resources to look into any fires that occurred in Kings Park.

We see that Kings Park is a beloved spot in Perth and has great cultural significance for people in Western Australia, according to Inspector Geoff DeSanges.

"The Arson Squad, which employs both overt and covert investigation techniques, will deploy advanced information collecting equipment to look into every fire that occurs inside the park.

"What we would say to those considering of committing something like this is that you will never know if police are keeping an eye before it's too late and we're smacking you on the shoulder."

Inspector DeSanges praised fire workers for preventing the Jacob's Ladder fire from spreading to other houses and said that community support was essential in identifying suspected arsonists.

"The fire as we saw yesterday moved rapidly towards multi-million dollar homes neighboring to Jacob's Ladder, principally due to that wind direction which was blowing the fire immediately there," he said.

"So it's through the very quick response and the outstanding work by our colleagues in the Department of Fire and Emergency Response that we were able to prevent significant harm to any property."

At noon on Friday, DFES declared the area clean, although the ladder is still blocked off.