The identities of four hero police officers who ran into a burning room inside a North Wollongong hotel room last year can finally be revealed after the man responsible for lighting the blaze pleaded guilty to property damage in court.
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Senior constables Craig Sands and Howard Cunliffe and constables Kayleb Hawkins and Travis Moulton risked their own lives to save an undie-clad Paul William Knight, who deliberately set fire to a room on the second floor of the Normandie Inn on the evening of October 17 before barricading himself inside.
The four officers had to use thermal imaging equipment to locate Knight inside the bedroom, then were forced to taser him when they eventually gained access to the room.
The officers and Knight were all taken to Wollongong Hospital for treatment for severe smoke inhalation.
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Knight was subsequently arrested and charged with damaging property by fire.
He pleaded guilty to the charge in Wollongong Local Court this week.
A set of agree facts tendered to the court said Knight, who also goes by the name Mark Lord, checked into the Bourke Street hotel on October 16, booking a two-night stay.
The court heard the following evening, Knight barricaded the door of the room using the bed, coffee table and lounge, before gathering paper and wood and starting a fire.
The blaze created a large amount of smoke and activated the hotel's internal fire alarms.
Fire and Rescue NSW arrived on site five minutes later and evacuated all guests at the motel except Knight, who refused to exit the room. Firefighters attempted to extinguish the fire but were unable to access the room due to the barricade.
Meanwhile, officers Sands and Hawkins were patrolling nearby when they came across the fire trucks at the site.
The pair entered the motel wearing only KN95 masks and made their way to Knight's door.
He still refused to exit the room and began throwing chairs and furniture at the doorway.
Officers Cunliffe and Moulton arrived on scene and joined Sands and Hawkins outside Knight's room, yelling out to him to leave.
Knight told the men "get f--ked".
The officers used a thermal imaging device supplied by firefighters to locate Knight's position in the room.
They eventually managed to get the door open, however were unable to see anything inside the room, prompting Sands to yell out "where are you?"
When Knight replied he was directly in front of them, police quickly tasered him and dragged him out of the room.
Knight, dressed only in. his underwear, yelled "f--k off, get off me".
He and the four officers were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.
Knight was released from hospital into the custody of police four days later and expressed gratitude for their efforts to save his life.
Meanwhile, a forensic examination of the hotel room identified two ignition points, as well as a cigarette lighter and a deodorant can, the latter of which appeared to have exploded.
The total cost of the damage to the room was $4480, police said.
Knight remains behind bars and will face court next mo nth for sentencing.
Read more court and crime stories here.
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