Judge says ‘no explanation’ for deliberate act as fire starter gets more prison time

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

Paananen, 41, appeared to have tears in his eyes as he heard the decision of Justice Briana Hardwick in Vernon court.

First Degree Murder

Decision in 2022 murder trial to come down Monday

14h ago

"My name is Amanda, Call 911"

Police investigating mysterious call for help near Cherryville

May 30, 2026

580 Commonage Development

Special meeting on Monday to discuss controversial housing development

May 29, 2026

Paananen’s lawyer, Nick Acker, had suggested a sentence of “time-served,” saying his client had already served a “significant” amount of time behind bars.

Crown counsel James Bagan called for a total sentence of at least four years, which the judge sided with.

Paananen was also given two years of probation once he’s released. The conditions include having no contact with the victims, a ten year weapons bans, a DNA order, and having no explosive devices other than one lighter as he is a smoker.

The judge said restitution “would not be appropriate” as Paananen has been incarcerated since his arrest on July 19, 2022 and has no assets.

Justice Hardwick said an aggravating factor was that she considered the arson an act of violence against an intimate partner.

“There can be no other conclusion,” Hardwick said in relation to the people she said were “significantly” impacted by the two fires at a townhouse in Vernon’s Harwood area on July 18, 2022.

A court order bans media from identifying the victims in the case.

No people or pets were injured in the incident, as no one was in the three-unit apartment building in the 4200 block of 20th Street at the time, but there was considerable damage to one unit.

Hardwick noted Paananen did not seem to want to hurt anyone, despite what she called “a planned and deliberate course of conduct to set fire to Unit 2.”

“But that cannot overtake the fact that this was a significant event for his family which does not have any obvious explanation, other than Mr. Paananen’s substance mis-use. There simply is not an explanation as to why why his family lost their home and he must be accordingly punished in that regard,” Hardwick said.

The Crown said on July 18, 2022, surveillance video showed Paananen taking two jerry cans from a camper in the yard where he lived and then siphoning gas from the camper and an ATV into the cans.

A video camera at the back of the house showed Paananen unhooking a propane tank from a neighbour’s yard and taking it back to his yard.

“At 10:50 that evening, there was a large explosion from the house. It blows out the front windows of Unit B. There is glass and debris across the driveway and on the street. This explosion is captured on another neighbour’s video,” prosecutor Bagan said.

Neighbours rushed to the townhouse and were banging on the door to make sure no one was inside. They also called 911.

As firefighters arrived about 8 minutes later, a back yard camera caught Paananen leaving the residence from the back yard.

Fire crews breached the front door which was locked and knocked down an active fire on the staircase. They went upstairs and all the doors were closed, and found another fire in one bedroom which was put out.

Fire investigators later found accelerants in the house including mason jars with gasoline, a bottle of race car fuel (methyl alcohol) and a propane tank with its hose cut off, allowing unregulated amounts of propane to flow from the tank.

The Crown said damage from the fires was estimated at $323,000, which does not include upwards of $25,000 in possessions.

The prosecutor said Paananen had 24 previous criminal convictions, many for property crimes, along with assault causing bodily harm and driving offences.

Paananen pled guilty to the charge on what was supposed to be the first day of his jury trial in Vernon Feb. 12, which required about 100 potential jurists to be at the courthouse and then told they weren’t needed

The maximum sentence for arson is 14 years in prison.

RELATED: ‘Worst decision I’ve ever made’: Vernon arson suspect apologizes for fire and explosion