Machinery sparked Tas fire: police

Tasmania Police have charged a man with using machinery during a total fire ban, blaming him for a fire that threatened lives and property in Perth.

A man has been charged over a bushfire that threatened homes in northern Tasmania.

Tasmanian Police have charged a 62-year-old local man with using machinery in contravention of a total fire ban over the blaze in Perth on Tuesday afternoon.

Police have not released details about how the fire started, but say the charged man will appear in court at a later date.

The blaze forced the evacuation of several homes on Tuesday afternoon and was briefly subject to an emergency warning.

A watch and act advisory is still in force for several streets as crews work to control the fire.

The fire only burned low-lying scrub, gorse, farm land, some farm structures and fencing.

Three helicopters and 17 trucks quickly eased the danger to lives and property, but a 25-year-old firefighter was taken to Launceston General Hospital suffering heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation.


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world