WA volunteer firefighter jailed over blaze

A volunteer firefighter who started a bushfire southeast of Perth and falsely reported two other blazes will spend at least six months in jail.

A volunteer firefighter who deliberately lit a bushfire and falsely reported two other blazes has been jailed for one year.

Jourdan Dean Ashford, 21, reported his own fire to authorities in 2014 and went to the scene with the Bedfordale Bushfire Brigade.

The West Australian District Court heard on Thursday that Ashford was an "adrenaline junkie" with a major depressive illness.

Judge Richard Keen said the fact Ashford was a volunteer firefighter aggravated the crime because he knew better than most the possible consequences of starting a fire.

He told Ashford if the weather conditions had been worse or the blaze had gotten out of hand, the sentence would have been harsher.

Ashford will be eligible for parole after serving six months behind bars.


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Source: AAP


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