The Arsonist

On 7 February 2009 approximately 400 bushfires broke out in the state of Victoria. Among the devastation caused by the fires, 173 people died and 2,029 homes were lost. Some of the bushfires were started by arsonists.

The week preceeding the bushfires Victoria experienced a heat wave with temperatures regularly above 40 degrees celsius. On the 7th February the temperature in Melbourne reached 46 degrees. It was hotter in Gippsland. This was also the time of the Millenium Drought (2001-2009).

In The Arsonist: a mind on fire, Chloe Hooper describes the devastation of the fire near Churchill in Gippsland and the attempt to find and prosecute the person who started it. Eleven people died during this fire and 145 homes were destroyed.

The book is divided into three sections - the detectives, the lawyers and the courtroom. The author describes how the police investigated the cause of the fire and how they located the perpetrator. This is followed primarily about the work of the Legal Aid lawyers attempting to build a case to defend the suspect who was autistic. A summary of the court case follows with the verdict. Thoughout the books the author includes descriptions of some of the events that occurred on Black Saturday as people attempted to defend their homes from the inferno and / or escape from the area. Interviews with many of the survivors are included.

This work is a valuable record of how bushfires have a long term impact on communities, families and the state as a whole. It is made all the more relevant considering the severe bushfires that recently occured in eastern Australia including Victoria.

This book was the first title discussed at the RHSV Book Club in March 2020 which I did not attend but I will still try and read the books.

Bushfire - Black Saturday