Winchester Crown Court heard that Victoria Makey, of Latham Court, Southampton, started the fire in order to get the attention of the emergency services after she made a series of drunken hoax calls.
Sentencing the 27-year-old for an offence of arson reckless as to whether life was endangered, Judge Evans described her as an “attention seeker”.
She added that Makey’s actions endangered the lives of the residents at the sheltered housing complex as well as the emergency crews which attended the blaze.
The sentence has been praised by South Central Ambulance Service for sending a message out to the public about the seriousness of prank calls.
Paul Jefferies, North Hampshire Area Manager, said: “It is nice to see society and the law courts are taking it seriously and acknowledging that the ambulance service is a precious resource.”
The court heard that Makey was visiting her friend’s flat at Ironside Court in Southampton, on March 30, when she made several prank 999 calls to the emergency services. When she got no reaction, she set fire to the curtains, forcing the firefighters to come to the scene.
Makey was sentenced to 6 years in prison with an extended licence period of 4 years.
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