A MAN has been refused bail accused of torching a home in Gunnedah earlier this month.
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Nathan Bartman is behind bars on charges of damaging property worth more than $15,000 by fire or an explosive; and destroying or damaging property.
The 28-year-old is accused of setting fire to a home in High Street in Gunnedah just before dawn on August 2.
The fire - which ripped through the brick and tile home severely damaging it - was deemed suspicious by authorities at the time.
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Gunnedah police and Oxley detectives have been investigating the cause of the fire, and homed in on Bartman in a little over a week in Moree.
He was tracked to a Moree address where Oxley detectives, along with the Moree Proactive Crime Team, surrounded the home.
"Officers from the Moree Proactive Crime Team engaged in a short foot pursuit and the accused was arrested," Oxley Detective Acting Inspector Jason Darcy said.
"He was taken to Moree police station and charged with those two offences.
"This investigation was led by Oxley detectives and Gunnedah officers but this was an excellent arrest by the Moree Proactive Crime Team and is another example of policing units working together to achieve an outcome and put offenders before the courts."
Bartman spent one night in custody after his arrest before he appeared in Moree Local Court via video link.
In court, he lodged a fresh bid for bail, but it was denied by magistrate Mark Richardson.
He ordered Bartman to remain in custody with the case to return to court later this month.
Bartman is yet to enter pleas to the charges which are both domestic violence-related.
Emergency services were alerted to the fierce fire after a Triple Zero call about 5.30am on the day in question.
Firefighters from the Fire and Rescue NSW Gunnedah brigade, backed by the Boggabri team, attacked the fire, and managed to stop it spreading.
At the time, crews said the front of the home was significantly damaged by smoke and the fire.
No one was injured in the fire and no one was home when it erupted.