Woman jailed after setting fire to her Northampton flat and causing evacuation
A woman has been jailed after she set fire to her Northampton flat and caused the evacuation of the whole block.
Skye McDonald appeared at Northampton Crown Court om October 4 for sentencing, after she pleaded guilty to criminal damage recklessly endangering life and possession of a Class B drug (cannabis).
The 31-year-old was arrested after firefighters were called to a block of flats in Wallbeck Close, Kingsthorpe on June 2 this year.
According to police, a resident heard smoke alarms and a loud bang from a neighbouring flat where McDonald lived.
When the neighbour knocked on McDonald’s door, she opened it to reveal billowing smoke, resulting in the evacuation of the block.
Firefighters found the bathroom full of smoke and two smouldering fires - one on the floor involving various items such as toilet paper, cloth, a melted lighter and an exploded aerosol can, and the other involving toilet paper on top of a small wooden unit - suggesting the fire had been started deliberately.
Cannabis) was also found in McDonald’s home.
Investigating officer PC Rea Huckin of CID West said: “Skye McDonald’s actions that night could have caused significant harm to herself and to other residents and their homes.
“She is very fortunate that the fires she started did not take hold – even so, the heat generated was enough to cause an aerosol cannister to explode which shows just how dangerous even a small fire can be.”
McDonald was sentenced to 12 months in prison. She was also ordered to pay a £187 victim surcharge. No separate penalty was imposed for the drugs possession, with a destruction order made for the cannabis.