A drugged-up homeless man who forced Darlington’s DL1 complex to be evacuated when he started a fire in the bin store to keep warm has been jailed.
Raymond Coglan has little memory of the incident on September 11, which saw the Premier Inn, Nando’s and Vue cinema evacuated after the car park filled with smoke.
Filmgoers had to leave screenings with their popcorn and drinks, and hotel guests huddled out on the street.
Darlington fire (Image: NEWSQUEST)
Teesside Crown Court heard on Monday (October 12) how CCTV captured the 42-year-old crouching behind a bin and starting the fire.
Within minutes, smoke engulfed the car park, forcing several businesses to evacuate and leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket.
Judge Nathan Adams jailed Coglan for 44 months after he admitted starting the fire.
Raymond Coglan (Image: Durham Constabulary)
He said: “The fire was set in the commercial bin area, an enclosed space between the businesses.
“I accept there was no intention on your part to endanger anyone’s life. You started and then left the area.
“What happened in the next two minutes was caught on CCTV. Within a couple of minutes, the fire had taken hold, and within five minutes it had flared up considerably, filling the area with black smoke.
“It posed a significant risk to the public, the hotel, the cinema and the nearby drinking establishment. They all needed to be evacuated.”
Darlington fire (Image: NEWSQUEST)
Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which involved around six wheelie bins and sent black smoke pouring from the rear of the Premier Inn.
Coglan, of no fixed abode, admitted arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered, after starting the fire on September 11.
His barrister Paul Rooney said Coglan had been homeless and in and out of prison since leaving care at 16.
He said Coglan started drinking and taking drugs while living on the streets.
“He found himself in a downward spiral of self-destruction: drinking, taking drugs, living on the street, sleeping in car parks and, in the colder months, seeking warmer places to rest,” he said.
Mr Rooney said Coglan had little recollection of starting the fire on September 11 after taking heroin and crack cocaine.
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He added: “He believes he attempted to start a fire to keep warm but, in a drunken and drug affected state, he didn’t think he had been successful and walked away.
“The fire was not premeditated, and he was unaware it had caused any damage until he was arrested after returning to the car park.”
Fire service crews remained at the scene until 9.31pm, and the blaze was contained to the bins without further escalation.