Man sentenced over dramatic blaze at former boarding house

A fire which engulfed a Dunedin boarding house was started by a squatter who left a camp stove unattended, a court has heard. 

Paul Terrence McCurdy, 59, appeared before the Dunedin District Court this afternoon after admitting the arson of the Phillips St property, which was swallowed by flames on October 27, 2023. 

McCurdy, who was arrested about a week after causing the inferno, has remained behind bars for more than two years, maintaining a not-guilty stance for much of that period and heading for jury trial. 

However, he changed his position at the end of last year when the charge, carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment, was reduced to a lesser count of arson with a five-year maximum. 

Judge David Robinson jailed McCurdy for 16 months, which would see him released immediately because of the time he had already served. 

The Phillips St property was in the process of being demolished after 51-year-old Christopher Paul Bonisch was killed in a fire there in 2022. 

However, work on the site had been halted in September 2023 after WorkSafe issued a prohibition notice due to safety concerns. 

The court today heard McCurdy had been living at the address before the first fire and began squatting there when the property was cleared out. 

In the early hours of the day in question, the defendant was boiling a pot on a gas camp stove. 

After leaving it unattended, the flames took hold of the derelict timber structure and quickly ravaged the two-storey house. 

A neighbouring property of similar construction, a functioning boarding house, was evacuated as the fire quickly spread. 

"Fortunately, no one was injured," Judge Robinson said. 

Though the destruction was widespread, Crown prosecutor James Collins said "extensive enquiries" had not been enough to track down the owners or put a dollar figure on the damage. 

While McCurdy had some previous convictions, he had never been locked up, and the judge said his earlier crimes "paled into insignificance" when compared with the most recent offence. 

The court heard the defendant had been transient for a long time and his lengthy stint behind bars appeared to be his first period of stable accommodation and consistent meals. 

Though McCurdy was assessed as having characteristics consistent with mental-health disorders, they had not been explored in detail and Judge Robinson said he could afford the issue little weight. 

Probation said there was not currently accommodation organised for the defendant upon his release but staff were currently working to find a solution.