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No charges over Sampson Flat fire

Aug 19, 2015
Some of the devastation caused by the Sampson Flat bushfire.

Some of the devastation caused by the Sampson Flat bushfire.

No charges will be laid over the major bushfire in the Adelaide Hills in January which destroyed 24 homes and thousands of hectares of forest and scrub.

A police task force has wound up its investigation and has determined that the cause of the blaze is unknown.

Expert fire and crime scene examiners are confident the fire started within or immediately adjacent to an incinerator on a Sampson Flat property, however there are a range of possibilities as to the actual cause, Detective Inspector Greg Hutchins says.

“Despite a complex and exhaustive process, the investigators highlighted a number of possible fire causes such as a smouldering fire from the incinerator; spontaneous combustion of items inside the incinerator or a discarded cigarette butt,” Hutchins said.

“At this time no charges will be laid. However, if new information comes to light, police would reconsider the matter.”

A man living in the property was interviewed by the media at the time of the fires, and denied having used the incinerator in the lead-up to the catastrophe.

– with AAP

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