Cops hunt WA police station firebomber

Not one of the 12 officers at a Perth police station noticed an attacker back a ute
up to the front door and set it on fire, sparking a blaze that gutted the station's
reception area and adjoining offices.

The Holden Rodeo ute, carrying a 220-litre fuel tank on its tray, was set on fire
outside Perth's Joondalup station at 10.30pm (WDT) on Monday.
The resulting fire caused major damage to the front of the building.
Assistant Commissioner Dominic Staltari said it was extremely lucky no one was
killed or injured at the station, a large operations centre in Perth's north-west.
Mr Staltari and the officer responsible for the station, Acting Inspector Martin
Crane, said the ute went undetected as the driver negotiated bollards at the front
of the building to reverse the vehicle up to the station's doors.
Acting Inspector Crane, who was not at the station at the time of the attack, said
officers inside did not realise what was happening because no one was in the front
part of the building at the time.
"There were about a dozen officers in the building at about 10.30pm, and there were
no members of the public so there would be no need for any of the officers to be at
the front counter," Insp Crane said.
Police said about 80 litres of fuel remained in the tank after the fire. It was not
known how full it had been.
Mr Staltari said police were following a number of leads, but would not say if
officers had CCTV footage of the incident.
"This is of great concern to us," he said.
"It is too early to talk about the intent of the offender at the time or the
circumstances by which the vehicle was ignited.
"We have committed a large number of resources to bring this matter to finality," Mr
Staltari said, adding: "There are a number of people we are looking at".
Police said they had upgraded security at other metropolitan police stations.
Premier Colin Barnett said a review of security at all police stations would be
undertaken as a result of the attack.