Man jailed for starting fire at a family house

Guilty, Carl Reeves

A man has been jailed indefinitely after he deliberately set fire to a house in Heywood where a family was asleep inside.

Carl Reeves (born 19/08/1987) of Gaskill Street, Heywood pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to arson with intent to endanger life.

He was sentenced today, Wednesday 6 June 2012, at Bolton Crown Court to an indeterminate sentence for public protection.

He has been ordered to serve a minimum of eight years before being considered eligible for parole.

On the evening of Friday 21 October 2011, Reeves was at home where he had been drinking alcohol throughout the day.

Sometime after 1.00am on the Saturday morning, having drunk a considerable amount, Reeves left the house armed with a petrol canister.

He decided to make his way to an address on Olive Street in Heywood, to the home of a man with whom he had had several disputes over the last few years.

Once there, Reeves poured petrol through the letterbox and set fire to it, before leaving the canister on the step and fleeing the scene.

Asleep inside the house was a man, a woman and their two young boys, aged only four and 19 weeks.

The family were awoken by the sound of their fire alarm and found their house filled with thick smoke, due to a fire in the downstairs hallway.

After frantically trying to get to their children through the smoke, the man smashed a bedroom window with a television, where a neighbour then helped him to lower down himself, his partner and baby.

The man and two of his neighbours then forced entry to the back of the house to try and rescue the four-year-old boy, who was still trapped upstairs, but they were beaten back by the flames.

Fire officers had arrived by this point and were able to go into the house and successfully rescue the young boy.

Paramedics had to resuscitate the 19-week-old baby in the ambulance, before the family were all taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.

Detective Constable Russell Clarke from Rochdale CID said: "This premeditated act by Reeves over an ongoing feud, literally almost cost this family their lives.

"I cannot imagine the sheer terror that must have gone through the minds of these parents, who were unable to reach their four-year-old son as their house burned around them, and then had to watch their young baby be resuscitated.

"Although the family are undoubtedly thankful that none of them were seriously injured, they sadly lost all their belongings in the fire. I hope today's sentence can help them to start moving on with their lives after this traumatic event.

"The consequences of starting any deliberate fire can be tragic, as no-one can control a fire and it can quickly spread out of control, putting people's lives at risk.

"Reeves now has a long time to think about the consequences of his actions from his prison cell."

Councillor David Acton, Chair of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, said: "Arson will not be tolerated and in such cases we will work closely with the police to carry out a thorough investigation and bring those responsible to justice.

"I would like to thank the neighbour who acted so courageously, and Heywood and Rochdale fire crews for their brave actions, which undoubtedly saved a young boy's life."