A 25-year-old man from Atwell has been charged over a fire that badly damaged a two-storey home in Mount Pleasant early on Wednesday morning. Someone had spray-painted the words "pay your debt dog" on the home's driveway.
WA Police say Rapid Apprehension Squad detectives searched a home in Atwell on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, and arrested the man there. He has been charged with one count of criminal damage by fire. He was refused bail and is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court today, Thursday 22 October.
Police have not named the man, and the charge has not been tested in court.
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The fire
Emergency services were called to the house on Ullapool Road shortly after 3am on Wednesday. Police put the call at about 3.10am, and the ABC reported it as about 3.20am. Firefighters from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services spent about an hour putting out the blaze, which burned through both floors and brought down part of the roof.
DFES district officer Gareth Deeg told the ABC that the flames ran from the front door to the roof and that the house could no longer be lived in.
"The fire has significantly damaged the property both internally and externally." — Gareth Deeg, DFES district officer, speaking to the ABC
No one was hurt. A neighbour told the ABC she woke to two loud bangs, saw flames on the roof at the back of the house, and later learned the people who live there were away on holiday. Earlier reports in The West Australian said neighbours had also heard a car leave the area.
The Arson Squad examined the scene on Wednesday morning. The words on the driveway quickly turned the fire into one of the most talked-about stories in Perth this week. The house was last sold in 2019 for $2.25 million, according to the ABC.
A quick arrest
The man was arrested within about a day of the fire. Police have not said how they identified him, how he is alleged to be linked to the house, or what the message on the driveway referred to.
Police say the investigation is continuing, which leaves open whether anyone else could be charged.
The charge was first reported on X this afternoon by 10 News Perth. The details in this story come from the WA Police media release and the ABC's report on the fire.
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What happens now
The man will make his first appearance in Perth Magistrates Court today. Criminal damage by fire is a serious indictable offence in Western Australia, and a case like this would usually be adjourned at a first appearance while police prepare their brief.
Detectives still want to hear from anyone who saw anything around Ullapool Road early on Wednesday morning, or who has CCTV, dash cam or mobile phone footage. Information can be given to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at crimestopperswa.com.au, and reports can be made anonymously.
Why it matters
Suspected arson attacks on homes, sometimes linked to debts or disputes, have become a recurring worry in Perth's suburbs. This one stood out because of where it happened: a quiet, expensive riverside street in the City of Melville, with a threat written on the driveway for the neighbours to see. The quick arrest will reassure some of them. Until the case reaches court, though, the question everyone on Ullapool Road is asking, which is why that house, has not been answered publicly.
Photo: Steelkamp via Wikimedia Commons (CC0). A general view of Mount Pleasant from Deep Water Point, not the house involved.
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