Woman whose partner set motorhome aflame, put her in hospital for months, says her ‘breakdown’ caused fire

A Manitoba woman who suffered burns to 35 per cent of her body after she was trapped in a motorhome her partner was found guilty of setting ablaze told a court Friday she caused the fire and took aim at police and justice officials who had previously ordered that the two stay apart.

“I (had) a complete breakdown and caused a fire,” the 50-year-old woman told court, reading from a prepared victim impact statement. “I was grateful to survive my accident and was grateful to have a voice to clear up what happened.”

“I am unable to function properly on a daily basis … until we get the justice we deserve,” she said.

Adam Bujak, 51, was convicted after trial earlier this year of arson to property, aggravated assault and two counts of breaching a no-contact order in the April 2024 fire.

Prosecutor Keri Anderson recommended provincial court Judge Mark Kantor sentence Bujak to nine years in prison, while defence lawyer Adam Pinx urged Kantor to consider a sentence of 4 1/2 years.

Court heard Bujak and the woman had been living together on her rural property in the RM of Macdonald since early 2020, around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ran a dog rescue operation.

The pandemic dealt a harsh blow to the operation and the couple’s relationship as they struggled with mental-health issues, financial problems and claims of infidelity.

By 2024, Bujak was bound by a court order not to live on the property and have no contact with the woman. The couple defied the court order and resumed living together in late April 2024.

On April 28, the woman was sitting on a bench inside the motor home and Bujak was standing in the doorway holding a jerry can full of gasoline. The woman had been drinking. Bujak was sober.

A call to 911 at 5:36 p.m. documented what happened next.

“Don’t light me on fire, man, better stop trying to light me on fire,” the woman can be heard saying on a recording of the call provided to court. “Get the … gas out of here right now… . Setting me on fire now, go away.”

Seven minutes later the woman called 911 again and told an operator she had been set on fire.

“I’m on fire right now, property is burning down,” the woman said. “My skin is burning off. Everything is going down, the whole … yard is going down. Oh my God, it is exploding. Please hurry, my skin is falling off.”

Neighbours, seeing smoke from the fire, arrived minutes later and found the woman on the ground “with significant burns all over her body and in severe pain,” Anderson said.

Court heard Bujak lay with the woman and tried to provide her with water before wandering the property in a distraught state before emergency responders arrived.

Neighbours asked the woman if Bujak was responsible for the fire. She told them Bujak poured gas on her, locked the door to the motorhome and set it on fire. The woman said she broke a window to escape.

Anderson said she accepted Bujak didn’t plan to set the fire.

“They were arguing as he held the jerry can and he snapped in that moment,” she said.

The woman was taken by helicopter to Health Sciences Centre with burns to her face, hands, arms, legs and back. She spent three months in hospital.

“There is no question she has been significantly impacted emotionally and physically, but we are in a bit of a difficult situation in that she doesn’t accept the offender (is responsible) for the fire,” Anderson said.

The woman argued earlier interventions by police separating the couple only exacerbated their relationship and financial problems.

“We can’t afford one house and now we have to find a way to survive until we get through the process,” she said. “We are doing all we could to have the RCMP-imposed orders removed so we can live normally again.”

Bujak addressed court and expressed regret for the “horrible incident” and the harm it caused “the woman I love,” then went on to complain about how difficult jail has been for him.

“I’m broken now,” he said. “This is a living hell.”

Bujak will return to court for sentencing on June 1. He remains in custody.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca