By Charlene Macaulay
Bayview Park’s pirate ship playground has again been the target of arson, four years after it was destroyed by fire.
Wyndham crime investigation unit detectives are investigating after offenders set fire to the wooden section of the playground’s slide some time before 3.30am on December 7. The damage has shut down the slide.
No one was injured during the incident.
Detectives are investigating whether the blaze is linked to two others that occurred at a playground in Presidents Park, Wyndham Vale, between midnight and 2.30am on November 24 and 27.
Wyndham council city operations director Stephen Thorpe said the fire had caused $25,000 of damage, with the cost of repairs to be covered by insurance.
Mr Thorpe said the council hoped to re-open the slide by mid-January. The rest of the playground remains open to the public.
The fire comes four years after the original timber playground at the Point Cook park was destroyed in an arson attack.
The playground was rebuilt and opened in December 2016 with a number of safety features aimed at preventing anti-social behaviour, including the use of fire-retardant wood.
The rebuild had its fair share of controversy at the time, with locals protesting the council’s original plans to replace the pirate ship park with a steel “ghost ship” structure.
The council agreed to rebuild the original pirate ship playground after an online petition bearing more than 2300 signatures and a pirate-themed protest at a council meeting.
Anyone with information about the fire can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
