JOSHUA Lambkin was bored and wanted to fight a fire on a 43-degree day.
Craig Lambkin was addicted to cannabis and needed money for drugs.
And so together, to get what they wanted, the brothers made a deal that nearly burned to the ground three Coalfields towns, forced the evacuation of homes, a hospital and an aquatic centre and closed a major highway.
And on Thursday, Joshua, now 31, and his younger brother Craig, now 29, both of Weston, were sentenced for their roles in bushfires that raged at Loxford, Chinaman's Hollow and Kurri Kurri in sweltering conditions on January 18 and 24, 2017.
Craig lit the fires in exchange for cannabis, while Joshua, a retained NSW Fire and Rescue firefighter, was called in and paid to extinguish them.
But it was Joshua who encouraged Craig to light the blazes and told him the best locations to target, Judge Tim Gartelmann, SC, said on Thursday.
Craig was arrested after riding his bike away from the January 24 fire and ultimately pleaded guilty to three counts of intentionally causing fire and being reckless as to its spread.
Joshua was arrested in July, 2017, after an extensive investigation by detectives and initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of accessory before the fact to intentionally causing a fire and being reckless as to its spread.
But with Craig languishing in jail while his brother was out on bail, Craig decided to make a statement to detectives and outline Joshua's involvement in the fires, telling police it was his brother's idea. Joshua changed his plea two weeks later, admitting to his role in Craig sparking the fires so he could put them out. It is because of that assistance to authorities, as well as his early guilty plea, that Craig was given a combined 35 per cent discount on his sentence, meaning he will be eligible for parole years before his brother, despite being the one who lit the blazes.
On Thursday, Craig Lambkin was jailed for a maximum of five years and six months, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months.
With time already served he will be eligible for parole in August, 2022.
Meanwhile, Joshua received only a 10 per cent discount on his sentence and was jailed for a maximum of seven years and nine months, with a non-parole period of five years and two months.
Joshua, who only went into custody earlier this month, will not be eligible for release until November, 2024.
