GROW OP BLAZE DESTROYED FIVE HOMES

Fire Victims Relieved As Suspect Pleads Guilty

In the hour after he first discovered the flames tearing through his
home, Russell Hugh McDougall made 25 calls on his cellphone.

None of those were to 911.

Nor did the 33-year-old alert any of his neighbours as the blaze began
to whip down the street, demolishing five homes and severely damaging
three others.

Instead, McDougall left the scene in the early hours of Dec. 5 -- his
Citadel neighbours barely escaping as their homes were torched during
a ferocious winter storm that left fire trucks stuck in snow as they
desperately tried to reach the scene.

This is according to a statement of facts read in provincial court
Wednesday as McDougall pleaded guilty to eight counts of arson by
negligence, and one count of producing marijuana. The blaze had
started in McDougall's home and was likely caused by electrical issues
related to the marijuana grow operation the man had in his basement.

The blaze was mammoth, soon carving a wave of destruction along
Citadel Forest Place N.W. after it started around 3:45 a.m. It left
almost a dozen people homeless, caused $5 million in damage, and
killed three dogs and eight cats.

"The fire spread quickly to neighbouring houses," Crown prosecutor
Bina Border said.

The victims are still rebuilding their lives. Those include Kim
Stobbe, who was living with her daughter and parents in one of the
homes that was destroyed. She's relieved McDougall pleaded guilty.

"It's nice that he actually did and admitted to his faults and
hopefully he'll get some good jail time for it," she said Wednesday in
an interview.

The family has credited Kim's daughter, Carlie, with saving them from
the fire after she awoke in the middle of the night and alerted the
household.

The first three months after the blaze were particularly draining, Kim
Stobbe said. She was laid off from her job a couple weeks after the
fire and it took time to sort things out with the insurance company.

Everything they lost had to be itemized, right down to how many pairs
of socks and shoes they owned.

But things are looking up now, she said. Stobbe is going back to
school on Monday to study to become a medical administrative assistant.

Carlie still has trouble sleeping, her mother said, but is doing well
otherwise. They live with Stobbe's parents in a leased home in another
part of Calgary. And construction of a new home on the site of the old
house owned by her parents is beginning next month.

After firefighters had put out the blaze, the whole scene was frozen
in ice. A frame was built around the remains of McDougall's home and a
heater thawed the ice. What investigators found were the remains of a
marijuana grow operation.

The electrical meter had been bypassed to steal electricity in what
Border told the court was an "extremely dangerous" manner. Electrical
and hydroponics equipment were found at the scene. An engineer
determined the fire could have been caused by the electrical
deficiencies, the court heard.

This is not the first time McDougall has been before the courts. Four
years ago, he and a co-accused were charged with second-degree murder
in the stabbing and bludgeoning death of another man. McDougall was
acquitted as a judge ruled it was self-defence.

Outside the courtroom, McDougall's lawyer said his client left the
scene of the fire without calling 911 because he could hear the fire
trucks on their way and he had a grow op in the home.

"He did not want the fire to occur in his own residence and he
honestly believed that the fire department was on its way and it was
safe to leave," lawyer Adriano Iovinelli said outside court.
"Obviously it wasn't, it was negligent, and we have these
circumstances that exist now."

McDougall had been renting the house since September. The new owner
had revamped the place, as it had been the home of another grow op
some years earlier.

When initially questioned by police in the aftermath of the fire,
McDougall said he was away from the home at the time on a two-day
drinking binge. This was doubtful, as he left two dogs in the house
and he was known as a diligent owner, the court was told.

A tip to Crime Stoppers said Mc-Dougall had in fact arrived home just
as the fire started.

Witnesses described to investigators a horrifying scene, the court
heard. Due to the terrible weather, fire trucks were stuck in the snow
and hoses had to be hauled by hand to the fire.

One firefighter who arrived on scene said the ashes were larger than
his fist, the court heard.

Some victims who lost their houses fled in the just their pyjamas. One
looked out his home to see large pieces of burning material flying
down the street.

Another victim, the court was told, said the wind was so strong it
sounded like a tornado.

McDougall is back in court for his sentencing hearing on June 14.