Police are treating a fire at the Genesis Health Club in Hampstead Road, Maidstone, in Melbourne's inner west as a targeted arson attack. Emergency services were called to the gym and martial arts facility after reports of a large fire about 12:30am. Fire Rescue Victoria said crews arrived within seven minutes to find the three-storey concrete building well alight. The building contained a gym and jiu-jitsu facility.
Nobody was inside the building when the fire tore through it. That didn't spare the place. It sustained significant damage, and firefighters stayed at the scene this morning to put out hot spots after taking about an hour to bring the blaze under control. Victoria Police said the offenders fled the scene and investigators were treating the fire as a targeted incident.
Who Pays for the Damage
Boris, who trains at the Brazilian jiu-jitsu facility, said the martial arts centre was badly damaged. "It's devastating, I'm speechless, I'm in shock. I'm quite sad for our coach and his family because they're great ambassadors for this beautiful martial art," he said. "I'm sure they're devastated and everyone who knows them." Those are the voices from the bottom of the pile: the people who train there, the coach's family, the people who have to absorb the shock after someone else decided to turn a building into a target.
Nicole Foreman, who runs the childcare centre next door, said the centre had to close today, affecting more than 100 families. "They rely on us for the kids while they go to work, so it's going to be hard for them to find somewhere for the kids to stay today," she said. "I didn't really think that anything would happen here, but it's happened now so who knows. It's a bit scary."
What the Fire Left Behind
The damage didn't stop at the gym walls. Foreman's childcare centre had to shut for the day, and more than 100 families were left scrambling because the people who depend on that service were suddenly cut off. That's how these attacks spread outward: one blaze, then a chain of disruption for workers and families who had no say in the decision.
Anyone who witnessed suspicious activity in the area or has footage of the incident has been urged to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000. That's the official route, the one offered after the fact, once the building's already been burned and the people already left to deal with the wreckage.
The fire followed the firebombing of another gym in Taylors Lakes on Tuesday night, which is also operated by Genesis Health Club. During that incident, two people working in the gym were told by masked offenders to leave the building before it was set alight. Two days later, another Genesis Health Club site was burning. Same operator. Same pattern. Different building.
The Pattern They Can't Ignore
Police are calling both incidents targeted. Fire Rescue Victoria said crews reached the Maidstone site within seven minutes. Victoria Police said the offenders fled. The details are stark, and they point to a world where the people running the place and the people using it are left to face the aftermath, while the apparatus shows up after the flames.
The gym and martial arts facility sat in a three-storey concrete building in Melbourne's inner west. It was empty when the fire started. That didn't make it less serious. It just meant nobody was trapped inside when the attack hit. The building still took significant damage, and the childcare centre next door still had to close, and more than 100 families still had to figure out what to do with their day.
The offenders in Taylors Lakes told two workers to leave before setting the gym alight. In Maidstone, nobody was inside. In both cases, the people who actually use the spaces, work in them, or rely on them are the ones left carrying the cost while investigators and hot spots and CrimeStoppers take their turn around the scene.