A LIMERICK man who set fire to a Council-owned house, while he was locked into the property, is facing a potential maximum life sentence for arson, a court heard.
The fire destroyed the house at Island Road, Limerick, on January 5, 2021, Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard.
The defendant, Edward Campion, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to one count of arson.
As the tenant had left the property and took the key, leaving Campion (38) alone and locked into the house, it was heard.
At around midday on the date, a number of by-passers raised the alarm after they observed smoke pluming out of the house.
“A number of public-spirited citizens were greatly alarmed and forcibly entered the building, but they could not go upstairs for fear of being engulfed by the fire,” said prosecuting barrister John O’Sullivan BL.
The fire service was contacted and, when firefighters arrived, they found the front door of the house open and a fire raging upstairs.
The fire chief, growing concerned there was a person upstairs, sent “four firefighters into the fire with breathing apparatus”, said Mr O’Sullivan.
“They located a casualty – the accused – in a rear room under a mattress, the man refused oxygen and was handed over to HSE paramedics.
“There was substantial damage caused to the house, the (upstairs) floor was burnt right through, the total amount of damage came to around €30,000.”
Investigations by both the fire service and Gardaí found that “an abundance of accelerant” was maliciously used to start the fire, said Mr O’Sullivan.
Campion, who suffered smoke inhalation injuries, admitted starting the blaze when he was interviewed by Gardaí at University Hospital Limerick six days after the fire.
The court heard Campion initially told Gardaí he started the fire “to protect myself, as I thought someone was after me”.
The defendant, who was homeless at the time and who spent a number of weeks in hospital recovering from breathing injuries sustained in the fire, later told Gardaí he was “smoking a joint and dropped the joint” which started the fire.
He later made unfounded claims that he may have been “drugged” by a third party and that a doctor told him that while he had no burn injuries, he had injuries consistent with being struck with a blunt object.
“Medical reports showed he suffered no injuries except for breathing injuries,” said Mr O’Sullivan.
Gardaí told the court that, at the time of the fire, they suspected that Campion was “struggling with mental health difficulties and was heavily reliant on drugs”.
Mr O’Sullivan said the “maximum sentence for arson is life in prison”.
Campion had 11 previous convictions, all for road traffic offences but he was “not well known to Gardaí”.
Campion’s barrister, Pat Barriscale, said Campion instructed him that “he was off his head and couldn’t say why he did it”.
“My client can’t explain why, he was using drugs at the time. The only person he put in danger, thankfully, was himself,” said Mr Barriscale.
“He has significantly reduced his drug taking, the occasional smoke is all he engages in,” Mr Barriscale told judge Colin Daly.
“He has a number of kids, he is hopeful of a job in a warehouse, he assures me he is hopeful for the future.”
Judge Daly ordered a probation report with a particular focus on the defendant’s drug use, and remanded Campion to appear for sentence at Limerick Circuit Court on June 3.
