Following a Nov. 27, 2009 guilty plea, Brandon Hall arsonist Emerson Pardoe has been sentenced to 2 years less one day in a provincial institution, with 3 years of probation following in term.

The sentence, which occurred on Tues. January 26, was exactly what the Crown asked for, and 6 months more than what the Defence requested. In the judge’s reading of the pre-sentencing report, he described it as “positive,” but also stated, “I suspect why he did this will remain a mystery, to us and [Emerson Pardoe] as well.”

Pardoe pleaded guilty to one count of Arson Endangering Human Life for lighting a fire in the elevator of Brandon Hall on Oct. 18, 2008.

Gord Arbeau, associate director of public relations at McMaster University, stated on behalf of the University: “We’re thankful that this unfortunate incident has come to a conclusion and we’re able now to move forward and put this in the past.”
The Crown suggested a 2-year sentence based on previous similar cases that involved different arsonists. One of the precedent setting cases used for Pardoe’s sentence concerned a separate elevator fire.

Damage was totaled at $5.2 million according to Tuesday’s victim impact statement from McMaster University—$2 million higher than originally reported to the Court.

“[The victim impact statement was] an opportunity for us to make sure the Court understood the widespread impact, especially on students, of the fire,” said Arbeau, “And it was an appropriate time for us to just remind the Court that the actions had significant consequences.”

$3 million of the total $5.2 million was in structural damage and $2.2 million was in costs associated with the relocation of students.

On his way into the courtroom, Pardoe’s father called him back, gave him a hug and said, “I love you Emerson.”
The judge described Pardoe as a “youthful first offender,” while his psych report found that the arson act was “out of character,” and that Pardoe “possessed a strong will to make amends.”

Related posts:

1. Brandon Hall arsonist Emerson Pardoe pleads guilty
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The Brandon Hall arsonist, Emerson Pardoe, has pleaded guilty to the charge of Arson Endangering Human Life, in connection with the Oct. 18, 2008 fire at Brandon Hall residence. He will be tried as an adult.

He admitted to being under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the crime. A second count against him–Arson Endangering Property– has been dropped.

According to this morning’s court readings, on Oct. 18, 2008, at approximately 2:45 AM, Pardoe and two other McMaster students had just left an acquaintance’s residence room and were walking down the hallway of Brandon Hall. Pardoe set fire to a poster with a lighter. His friends a reprimanded him, extinguished the fire, and parted ways. The smoke alarms did not go off at that time.

At 3:42 AM, Pardoe was returning, by himself, to his residence room on the third floor. He rode the middle elevator to the third floor, and, at 3:43 AM, set fire to a corner of a stack of Silhouette papers using a match and then retired to his room.

At 3:45 AM, a student on the 10th floor called the elevator up and first noticed the fire. When the elevator reached the 10th floor, the smoke alarm went off, automatically sending all the elevators down to the first floor. The middle elevator was called back up to the second floor, where it remained opened and spread through the halls.

All students evacuated the building. Four were rushed to the hospital. They were treated for smoke inhalation; one student remained in the hospital for four days. All four students have since made full recoveries.

Brandon Hall was closed down for the rest of the fall semester, and reopened on Jan. 4, 2009. The total estimated damage was $3 million, not including additional costs to relocate the students to several hotels across Hamilton. The second floor sustained fire and smoke damage, while the rest of the building experienced smoke damage.

Pardoe was arrested on Nov. 3, 2008. He has since admitted that his intentions were not to harm anyone.

This was Pardoe’s third attempt at a trial; now that he has pleaded guilty, a sentence report has to be written about him. It will be presented on Jan. 26, 2010.

Related posts:

1. Alleged arsonist decides to plea
2. Brandon Hall arsonist sentenced to 2 years

On Oct. 18, 2008, Pardoe allegedly set a stack of newspapers on fire inside one of Brandon Hall’s three elevators, consequently burning the entire elevator shaft. The fire caused the evacuation of a total of 580 students who were then housed at various hotels throughout downtown Hamilton.

After numerous renovations to the residence including painting and re-carpeting some of the areas of the building, mattress replacement, and the sanitization and cleansing of walls, furniture, and curtains, the residence was ready for student occupation by Jan. 4, 2009 with only one working elevator.

All court updates regarding Pardoe will be posted on the Silhouette website.

Related posts:

1. Brandon Hall arsonist Emerson Pardoe pleads guilty
2. Alleged arsonist Charged

On the afternoon of Friday Nov. 13, there was a small fire against the Kenneth Taylor Hall building within the Arts Quad. According to Andrea Farquhar, director of Public Relations at McMaster, Arts Quad fire was caused by a “cigarette butt” that was thrown onto the ground. It went through the stones and lit the fiber underlayment beneath the stones on fire.

Farquhar added, “As soon as it was spotted it was put out; there was no damage. It’s funny because a lot of the time, fires can look a lot worse than they are, especially because of the composition of the underlay that would’ve created the smoke.” Farquhar reported that the fire was quickly put out, adding that she did not know the exact time that the incident had happened.

The Environmental and Occupational Health Support Services sub department from Human Resources Services was repeatedly contacted for information regarding the fire. They had no comment to provide to the Silhouette, who were consequently forwarded to McMaster’s Public Relations.

Public Relations had no further comments. Two short videos posted on YouTube of the fire on Nov. 13 attracted nearly 3,000 views.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUnbUel1bnk&feature=related

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