THE man accused of lighting Black Saturday's Churchill fire claims he was on the other side of town minutes before the blaze started.
Brendan James Sokaluk, 40, denies sparking the catastrophic fire that killed 11 people and wiped out hundreds of homes, the Herald Sun reports.
His lawyer told Melbourne Magistrates' Court Mr Sokaluk was at a supermarket cash register shortly before the fire started.
David Sexton said the IGA supermarket was 12 minutes away from the alleged ignition site of the fire, leaving very little time for him to have set it before witnesses started reporting seeing smoke.
He said there may have been multiple sources for the fire and exactly how it began was a major issue in the case.
Mr Sexton said there were other suspects with "soft" alibis, including a serial arsonist riding a bicycle in the area and youths police had noted as acting "cagey" on the day of the fire.
Prosecutor Ray Elston SC said the trip from the supermarket to where the fire is believed to have started was "considerably shorter" than 12 minutes and other suspects had alibis or evidence to show where they were.
A former CFA officer told the court Mr Sokaluk resigned as a volunteer in 1988.
He said Mr Sokaluk, whom the court was told had a severe intellectual disability, did not appear slow or unable to understand his CFA training.
A high school friend of Mr Sokaluk, Trevor Bird, said he had "psychic intuition" after the events of Black Saturday that his old mate had been responsible.
He admitted they had a falling out after school but denied Mr Sokaluk was "slow".
Mr Sokaluk is charged with 191 offences including arson causing death.
The preliminary hearing before Magistrate Simon Garnett is continuing.
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