Caulfield Racecourse fire believed to be deliberately lit

“I don’t believe they have to knock any components down of the brick area, but because it is timber, it’s unlikely that area will be able to be repaired. They will probably have to replace that section.”

Melbourne Racing Club chairman John Kanga said the fire burnt the racetrack’s oldest grandstand, which adjoins the main stand.

“To my eye, and to the information that I have so far, it looks like in the bar area,” Kanga told SEN Track shortly before 8am on Tuesday.

“There’d be some smoke in the main grandstand as well. That’s my fear.”

FRV said the response was escalated to third-alarm level, but was contained to the centre of the grandstand and deemed under control at 7.09am.

A community advice message was issued for the fire and smoke, but Smith said no horses or people were hurt.

“There were probably a few community members milling around, a few workers arriving on scene, but thankfully, no impact to the community doing exercise, and definitely no horses, which was great news,” Smith said.

A VicEmergency warning showed 11 vehicles responding to the incident.

An advice message covered the suburbs of Ashburton, Carnegie, Caulfield, Caulfield East, Caulfield North, Caulfield South, Glen Huntly, Glen Iris, Malvern, Malvern East, Murrumbeena and Ormond.

“There is currently no threat to the community, but you should continue to stay informed and monitor conditions,” the alert says.

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