Fire
Fighter / Fire Starter
Summer is fast approaching
, the heat is upon us and of course preparation by the CFA for another fire
season is well underway.
In our modern era, we are
better prepared with more sophisticated technology and resources to fight
fires, but there is always the threat that Mother Nature will outsmart us all.
Since the founding of
Melbourne the Dandenongs have always been a place of respite in the hot Summers
and as long back as the 1860s, it rivalled Sorrento and Portsea as a getaway
destination for the affluent, escaping the crowds, heat and smells of an ever expanding
Melbourne booming from the gold rush.
These days there is
little trace on the mountain of the grand mansions that stood proudly in their opulence
and finery. Names like Doongalla and Ferndale are legendary not just for their
beauty but their famous owners. Names like the McKinnons and Griffiths.
Pioneers in Industry and sport. Both these fine properties were lost to bush
fires.
Victorians learnt very
early to respect the fire dangers of the Southern Summer.
Respect of the land and
bush fires were quickly inbred into the local populace and the Basin as a township
had a Community ready to support each other in times of crises. Though up and running
in one form or another the Basin officially formed its own Fire Brigade in 1926.
So imagine how bad it
must have been to find one of your own had been responsible for deliberately lighting
fires.
Newspaper reports fromMarch 1938 report that a Henry Frank Grumont (more commonly known as Frank
Junior, son of respected community member Frank Grumont Senior) a young man of
21 was convicted at Ferntree Gully Courthouse of lighting three fires in
different locations between the 20th and the 23rd of February the same
year, using a rudimentary incendiary device. For one of these fires he even
raised the alarm to put it out. Grumont was also present at two of the fires to
help fight them.
The devices were
perforated tin cans that were placed over a short candle to prevent them
extinguishing and that when they burned down would ignite the surrounding dry grass.
A time bomb in its most basic form. Two days later Captain of the Basin Fire
brigade Bert Chandler found several of the perforated tins whilst inspecting
the burnt-out areas.
Grumont’s crime was
discovered by some early CIS and smart detective work –acting on Chandler’s
information- by First Constable Sage out of Bayswater when he visited Grumont’s
house and finding two short candles. Though Grumont denied any implication he
was arrested where he eventually admitted to Senior Detective Lyons the deed
after being shown the cans and a piece of candle with his thumbnail on it and
was charged.
His reasons for lighting
the fires was to clear scrub – mind you, it was a 35-degree day with hot northerly
winds - he then admitted it was to get even with some people who “had a set
upon him” A phrase I’m not familiar with or its context. These words were
repeated in many publications so I assumed it does not mean people set upon him, as in beat him
up.
Though the potential for
Grumont’s crime was catastrophic, his punishment was lean.
The Brigade Captain
Chandler though discovering important evidence implicating him, spoke of
Grumont as one of the finest firefighters in the district, He then said he
would hire Grumont and watch over him as the believed this lapse was due to the
drink. This obviously held sway with the Magistrate and Grumont was sentenced to six months jail
which was suspended on a 50 pound bond for good behaviour for two years. Mr
Chandelor even acted as bondsman.
In Rick Coxhill’s History
of the Basin, he makes a very brief mention of the event and I quote “ The 1930s were bad years for fires, mainly
because an arsonist was very active in the area and this continued until an
arrest was made in 1938.”
This statement is not
expanded on but it does imply that the person arrested may have been
responsible for more than one fire.
Grumont's actions were
dangerous at best and given his history was well aware of the consequences.
Just three months earlier in November 1937, 150 houses were threatened in an
outbreak, foreshadowing a bad summer fire season. His was even quoted in anARGUS news article about his concerns for the oncoming season. Grumont’s court
appearance appeared in newspapers all over the country such was the interest in
the outcome.
I believe there must be
more to this story, information at hand would have suggested a harsher
punishment, there may be more in the back story. As for Frank Grumont junior,
he married that same year and moved out to Croydon and eventually Altona. In
1962 bush fires took the place he grew up in and where his mother still lived.
Ferndale.
I’d be interested if
anyone else has information on this subject.
Sources: LINK TO ORIGINALS
The Argus 4-3-38 page 3
& 28-11-1938
BurnieAdvocate 5-3-1938
Page 7
The Age 5-3-1938 Page 22
The WestAustralian
15-3-1938
The Adelaide Advertiser
5-3-1938 page 23
The Townsville Daily
7-3-1938 page 3
The Herald (Melb)
4-3-1938 Page 3
The Weekly Times
12-3-1938
History of the Basin Rick
Coxhill
