A MAN who started fires in the bedroom and living room of his Rugby housing association flat, causing £10,000 worth of damage and putting the lives of other residents at risk, has been jailed.
Matthew Slack had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to arson at the flat in Carolyn Lane Court, Blackman Way, being reckless whether lives would be endangered.
And following an adjournment for psychiatric and pre-sentence reports to be prepared on him, the 47-year-old was jailed for three years and four months.
Prosecutor William Dudley said on the afternoon of July 18, the fire service received calls reporting a fire in Slack’s one-bedroom flat.
Smoke began billowing from the bedroom window of the flat, where Slack lived alone apart from a cat or cats, on the top floor of the three-story Midland Heart Housing Association block.
After the fire, which did not spread to neighbouring flats, had been put out, fire investigators began to search through the debris.
There were three seats of fire, the main one being in the bedroom, which was completely gutted.
Various items had been piled up before being set fire to, but it was not possible to establish whether or not any accelerant had been used.
It was quickly established the fire had been started deliberately but it was not clear who had been responsible at first, because the door to the flat was not secure.
Slack made himself known to fire officers and police at the scene, but claimed he had been staying with his girlfriend and had not been at the property for some time.
He maintained that account when he was interviewed, but ‘started to waver’ when it was pointed out that a neighbour had seen him leaving shortly before the fire was spotted.
Slack then admitted being responsible.
Oliver Woolhouse, defending, said Slack was suffering from a depressive illness at the time, but that had improved considerably since he had been in custody and taking medication.
Mr Woolhouse added there had been a steady decline in Slack’s mental health following the loss of his long-term partner from a heroin-related illness in 2013, the death of his brother in the same year, and then his sister’s death in April this year.
He had lived in the flat for 21 years, but it proved to be a constant reminder of his late partner, and prior to the fire he had been staying with his new partner.
Slack, who had misused drugs for many years but had got it under control in the last 15 months, returned only occasionally to the flat, where the services had been cut off, and which was used by former associates who took advantage of the fact that the door did not lock.
Mr Woolhouse added after setting fire to some items in the flat, Slack had not been able to extinguish it, so left, and when he returned with his partner, the fire had taken hold.
Jailing Slack, Recorder Stuart Sprawson told him: “Those who commit offences of arson endangering life recklessly must be dealt with severely, not only to protect the public, but to deter others.
“Your personal circumstances are somewhat sad. You have been addicted to opiates for some 20 years and you have two mental disorders, depressive episodes and some type of psychosis arising from your drug misuse.”
