Shackburning firey gets jail

A VOLUNTEER firefighter who torched a vacant Primrose Sands house has been jailed for at least 15 months.

Adam Daniel Patterson, 33, pleaded guilty to arson after setting fire to the house at 769 Primrose Sands Rd on May 15, 2016.

During a sentencing hearing yesterday in the Supreme Court in Hobart, Justice Stephen Estcourt said Patterson seemed to have set fire to the much-loved family shack “for no apparent reason”.

Justice Estcourt said Patterson had no relevant prior convictions, did not suffer from a mental illness and there was no evidence to suggest he had a fascination with fires.

Outlining the facts of the case, Crown Prosecutor Madeleine Figg said Patterson lit the fire in some firewood stacked under the rear of the house. He later responded to the fire as a member of the Primrose Sands fire brigade.

Ms Figg said CCTV footage from the local shop and accounts from witnesses who saw a car similar to Patterson’s in the area helped police identify him as a suspect.

Defence lawyer Philippa Morgan said Patterson suffered from ill health due to a complex auto-immune disease and was having relationship problems at the time of the crime.

“He was suffering from a very low mood leading up to the events of 2016,” she said.

Ms Morgan said Patterson’s actions were not premeditated.

She said he left his home for a drive after an argument with his wife over finances and ended up at the end of Primrose Sands Rd. He then decided to light a fire at the house, which he knew was unoccupied.

“It was a very small act that had very significant consequences. There was no malice or motive of revenge,” Ms Morgan said.

Justice Estcourt said arson was a serious crime which resulted in considerable costs to the community and the state.

He sentenced Patterson to two years and six months in jail with a non-parole period of 15 months.