A man who is charged over lighting more than 30 fires at a holiday spot at Easter, while more than 2000 people were camping nearby, will remain behind bars for now.
Brendan Helmore, 44, from the Bendigo suburb of Golden Square, unsuccessfully applied for bail at Shepparton Magistrates’ Court.
He is charged with reckless conduct endangering serious injury, intentionally causing a fire, recklessly causing a fire and possessing methamphetamines.
Cobram Crime Investigation Unit Detective Sergeant Marcus Boyd told the court authorities were called to a bushfire at Ulupna Island in Barmah National Park, near Strathmerton, at 12.50pm on Easter Saturday, March 30.
He told the court Mr Helmore, who had grown up at Numurkah, had set up camp at Ulupna Island the previous day.
On Easter Saturday Mr Helmore walked off into the bush, and “in a drug-induced psychotic state” believed he was lost, overheating and was going to die, Det Sgt Boyd said.
He saw an aircraft and believed he had to get its attention to be saved, so lit the fires, Det Sgt Boyd said.
Police allege Mr Helmore set between 33 and 37 fires that ranged in sizes, from 0.006 hectares up to two hectares.
The first fire was spotted about 12.30pm by another camper, who tried to extinguish it before seeing multiple fires and calling emergency services.
Sgt Boyd told the court 33 CFA units took four hours to bring the fires under control, while it was seven days before the area was rendered safe by authorities.
Mr Helmore was seen by a witness behaving erratically at his campsite after he returned to his vehicle, and a blowtorch was seen in his Esky, which was later seized by police.
Det Sgt Boyd said that when interviewed by police, Mr Helmore made partial admissions, saying he “set five to eight fires” but said they were in a different area.
He also admitted to police that he knew the fires would put other people at risk, Det Sgt Boyd said.
Sgt Boyd also told the court that while this was not subject to charges in this case, Western Australia police had a warrant out for Mr Helmore’s arrest for an incident where he allegedly set a backpack containing aerosol cans on fire near Optus Stadium in Perth on January 18, 2024.
He had flown to Perth that morning, but never caught a second flight that would take him to where he was working in mines at the time.
Sgt Boyd said police opposed bail, saying Mr Helmore had a drug addiction and “when he takes ice, his actions can’t be trusted”.
“We’re worried something more catastrophic could happen if he got back on the drugs.”
Mr Helmore’s defence counsel told the court his client had been abstinent from drugs for three months while he had been in prison on remand, and he had an appointment with his GP the following day to address his drug and mental health issues.
He also said Mr Helmore could live with his mother if he was bailed.
Mr Helmore’s mother gave evidence in court that her son’s psychosis was a relatively new issue in the past eight months.
Mr Helmore’s sister also gave evidence she had spoken to St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne about drug treatment for her brother, and he could be treated there.
She told the court it usually took about four weeks to get in, but she was hoping it would be sooner.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski, however, said he was concerned it was not known if Mr Helmore had suffered the psychosis because he had used drugs, or whether he used drugs because of the psychosis.
“I have no idea what causes it and I don’t know how it is treated,” he said.
“I’m being asked to take the risk... that he’ll relapse for some reason because he uses drugs and he’ll set fire to something or hurt someone.”
In refusing bail, Mr Zebrowski said it was “hard to overlook the seriousness of this offending and the danger it posed”.
“It’s tempting that with family support and referrals to his GP, to think it will all be okay, but the risk of him not being fine is a risk I’m not willing to take,” he said.