An arsonist's fire spree "rampage" in a suburban area had "potential for grave consequences" and created "a high level of alarm" for firefighters.
On Monday, the ACT Supreme Court handed Matthew Scott Hagan, 35, a $4500 fine and a two-year suspended prison sentence. He had been in custody since October last year.
Acting Justice Rebecca Christensen also sentenced the offender to a more than 14-month drug and alcohol treatment order.
Conditions of the order include not to carry fire lighting equipment in a public place.
Hagan previously pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including causing a bushfire, property damage, and leaving a fire without extinguishing it.
During a sentencing hearing last week, a prosecutor labelled the arsonist's crimes "something of a rampage where he lit a myriad of fires".
In October 2023, about 4.40am, Hagan and another man lit seven fires in a residential area in Isabella Plains.
When lighting one of the fires Hagan sprayed a substance out of a plastic water pistol and then lit it ablaze.
Several of the fires were located near homes with emergency services rushing to put them out.
When police officers found Hagan nearby, smelling of petrol, he claimed he had been working on a motorcycle
On Monday, Acting Justice Christensen said the arson caused "potential harm to property, persons and ecosystems".
The judge said Hagan's actions were "deliberately reckless" and had "potential for grave consequences".
"[At the time there was] no doubt a high level of alarm being experienced by first responder services," Acting Justice Christensen said.
Hagan started using illicit drugs, namely methamphetamine, at 25 and claims the arson was the result of substance abuse.
He has previous convictions for drugs, violence, weapons, driving and property damage offences.
Acting Justice Christensen said he "demonstrated a complete disregard for the actual and potential consequences of his actions" by lighting the fires.
Hagan claimed to have been abstinent from drugs 12 months before his latest crimes and lit the fires after relapsing taking meth shortly beforehand.
The judge said he now "has goals to be drug-free" and had demonstrated a shift in behaviour while in custody.
Hagan's drug and alcohol treatment order is set to end in October 2025.
