I`m not Marysville arsonist: CFA captain

A man who has named himself as Victoria's suspected Black Saturday arsonist says he
is innocent and a firefighter who saves lives and property.
Ron Philpott, the Murrindindi Country Fire Authority (CFA) captain, has come under
suspicion from police who have interviewed him a number of times regarding the
Murrindindi Mill fire that's blamed for the death of 38 people in Marysville.
He confirmed to media outlets on Wednesday that he was under suspicion from police
and had been questioned.
The 65-year-old, who works as a fencing contractor, was one of the first people to
report the fire that flared up at the old sawmill near his home on February 7.
"I am innocent of any wrongdoing," Mr Philpott told reporters.
"I am a fireman. I put out fires and save lives and property."
Mr Philpott said his house came under attack during the fire and he spent two hours
without a tanker or water defending it.
He said the Department of Sustainability and Environment fire tower was the first to
report the Murrindindi blaze, which broke out between 2.30pm and 3.30pm on the
Saturday, although he radioed it into the CFA.
"My vehicle never went anywhere near the fire scene until I went up there to call
the tankers," he said.
Mr Philpott says that since the police investigation started he has become depressed
and undergone counselling, but remains determined to prove his innocence.
"It gets you down but you have to do something to prove you are innocent," he said.
He says police have tapped his phone and are tracking his car by satellite.
"I know that because they have told me," he said.
"Any conversations I have on the phone come back to me."
Mr Philpott's son Brad, 30, told AAP that there was no way his father would have
started the killer blaze.
"I know my father - he fights fires, he fought the Ash Wednesday fires," Brad said.
He says the finger was being pointed at Mr Philpott because he was the first to
report it.
"There were a couple of power companies there and their workers were standing at the
gates and they had been working on a small sub-station that day.
"There had been reports of explosions in the area that day, loud bangs."
Police have not confirmed Mr Philpott is a suspect in their investigation.
Mr Philpott underwent a lie detector test at a secret location on Wednesday night
for the Nine Network's A Current Affair program.
"If you want me to go down and have a lie detector test, I'll do it," Mr Philpott
told the program.
The results of the test will be aired on the program on Thursday.