When smoke started to fill the over 300 apartment buildings and more than 600 occupants in the early hours of the morning, residents had to be evacuated from the complex.
An arsonist who purposefully started a fire in a complex of apartments in the city center endangered hundreds of lives and was sentenced to prison.
On April 29, 2024, a guy from Netherfield named Andrew Dmytruk set fire to a car and a van in a parking lot located on the third floor of the Litmus Building on Huntingdon Street in Nottingham.
When smoke started to permeate the over 300 apartment building with over 600 tenants in the early hours of the morning, everyone had to be evacuated.
On Friday (7), Dmytruk, 63, of Hodgkinson Street, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Prior to this, he had entered a guilty plea to arson while acting carelessly with regard to the possibility of human death.
At approximately 3.25 am, the complex’s fire alarms went off, triggering the call of emergency services.
After the fire was put out by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and police conducted a combined investigation, it was found that an accelerant had been used and the fire had been intentionally started.
Dmytruk took a taxi to Clinton Street West, walked to the Litmus Building, and then forced open the complex’s gates, according to CCTV evidence.
He is then shown leaving the building after lighting the fire, with the sound of fire alarms blaring in the background.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Dmytruk had previously been escorted out of the premises by security personnel.
Staff member vehicles had been interfered with by him, and he was acting strangely.
“Lighting any fire is dangerous, but to start a blaze in a complex housing hundreds of people shows a reckless disregard for life,” Nottinghamshire Police Detective Sergeant Al Prentice stated.
“I hope the emergency services’ responsiveness provides consolation to the residents of the Litmus Building.
“The quick extinguishment of the fire and the safe handling of the scene by the firefighters were made possible.”
Officers have put a lot of effort into identifying Dmytruk as the culprit using a variety of investigative techniques once it became clear that the ignition was intentional.
The arsonist was left with no choice but to enter a guilty plea as detectives assembled a case.
“I’m glad the judge put Dmytruk in jail so he can hopefully think back on this risky and careless behavior.”
Chris Trendowicz, Watch Manager for the Arson Task Force of the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, stated: “The residents of the Litmus building and the wider community saw a lot of disruption from this incident.” This attack ultimately put lives in danger and might have had a serious effect on others in the vicinity.
“More than fifty firefighters responded to this incident, and they did a great job controlling the fire and preventing it from spreading. But, this also meant that our resources were diverted from other occurrences that would have been even more serious.
“We will never stop working tirelessly alongside our emergency services colleagues to hold individuals who endanger others accountable for their actions. This should demonstrate to everyone that purposeful fire lighting does have dire repercussions.
