Toowoomba teen pleaded guilty to starting fire in Geham forest

A discarded jerry can linked a wayward teen to a forest fire off the New England Highway. He appeared before a judge to plead guilty to wilfully setting fire to vegetation.

A JUDGE labelled a teen’s actions as “incredibly stupid” after he used petrol to start a fire in a forestry plantation at Geham.

William John Kevin Horrigan, 19, faced the Toowoomba District Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to one count of wilfully setting fire to a standing crop of grass.

The court heard Horrigan and his co-accused filled a five-litre jerry can with petrol at a Toowoomba service station on June 8.

Crown Prosecutor Shontelle Petrie said Horrigan used the fuel to start a fire then fled when it was clear they lost control of the situation.

“It is obviously very topical, but when setting fires, risks abound,” she said.

The fire burnt an area about half the size of a football field and destroyed several young plantation trees.

“It is unknown whether (the owner) will sustain a loss because the trees set on fire would not be harvestable for many years,” Ms Petrie said.

Luckily the incident occurred in the middle of winter when cool, dewy conditions halted the fire.

“It is very fortunate that volunteers from the local fire brigade were able to bring it under control,” Ms Petrie said.

Police investigating the scene found the jerry can nearby and linked it to Horrigan, who made full admission of his actions when interviewed by investigators.

Acting in his defence, barrister Jessica Goldie said her client had no criminal history and was going through a rough patch at the time.

She tended a written apology, expressing his remorse.

In sentencing Judge Deborah Richards accepted Horrigan’s genuine regret but said his actions risked lives.

“You were only 19 at the time,” she said.

“I can only put it down to the fact that you were at that age that you would be so incredibly stupid to do such a dangerous thing having seen the fires that raged in the Australia in December and burnt millions and millions of hectares of property, killed people and millions of animals.”

Judge Richards ordered an 18-month period of probation with no conviction recorded.