There are fears Ballarat could be facing another wave of car fire crimes, after incidents at Mount Pleasant and Mount Clear within hours of each other on Tuesday.

Police say the two fires are unrelated, but firefighters are worried it could become a trend - and will waste valuable time that could be spent saving lives.

"If you're thinking of torching a car, don't," Fire Rescue Victoria Senior Station Manager Luke Shearer said.

"It wastes emergency services' time and if there's another fire or accident in the area, we won't be able to get there.

"The environmental impact of car fires is also really really bad. You honestly don't know what's catching fire. It could be upholstery, heavy metals, anything.."

He also warned the public to stay well away from vehicle fires.

"Different metals and materials can ignite suddenly without warning and create a huge amount of noise," Mr Shearer said.

"The other thing to remember is that people often travel in groups of two stolen cars in these incidents: one gets burnt and the other is used as a get-away car.

"If you see two or more cars acting suspiciously, take note of any details and call triple zero straight away."

He also said car buyers should consider new technology that allows vehicles to be tracked by carmakers and police if stolen.

UPDATE:

Ballarat police are investigating a second suspicious overnight car fire - this time in Mount Pleasant.

A silver Commodore sedan was reported on fire around 12.20am Tuesday in Kenworthy Place.

"The car was not stolen, but was set on fire in the occupant's driveway," Senior Detective Rob Ward said.

"No one was injured, but we're treating it as suspicious."

Fire Rescue Victoria said they arrived within seven minutes of the first call, to find a "small fire on a property".

An FRV spokesperson said the fire was declared under control at 12.27am.

Detectives believe the fire is not related to the torching of a stolen car in a Mount Clear pine plantation, more than five hours later.

Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Earlier: Ballarat police are investigating a stolen car fire at a pine plantation in Ballarat's southern suburbs.

Fire Rescue Victoria crews from Ballarat City responded at 5.50am on Tuesday, after calls to Triple Zero reporting acrid smoke in the Mount Clear area.

The smouldering sedan was tracked down to an open area about 200 metres down Indicator Lane - an uninhabited dirt road through the forest.

Detectives confirmed it was a 1984 Toyota Corona stolen from Sebastopol overnight.

An FRV spokesperson said crews got to work straight away, with the scene deemed under control by 6.05am.

The scene has since been handed over to police, with Ballarat detectives expected to check out the scene on Tuesday morning.

A badly damaged number plate was still attached to the front of the car, with no plate on the rear.

More to come.

Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.