Man who burned down storage units named

Smoke billowing from the Kiwi Storage facility as firefighters struggle to control the blaze. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A man who caused a huge fire at a storage building and destroyed millions of dollars of property has been sentenced to eight and-a-half years in jail.

Angelo Dominic Bitossi, who pleaded not guilty to the arson at Kiwi Self Storage units near Wellington Airport, won't be able to apply for parole for at least four years and three months.

A blaze engulfed the storage building in April last year, damaging items in 200 storage units.

At Bitossi's sentencing today, the High Court at Wellington heard there were hundreds of victims, one of whom tearfully read out a victim impact statement in court.

She said the aftermath of the blaze, in which she lost possessions, had caused her sleep loss, anxiety, and almost caused a relationship break-up.

"I can't forgive myself as I thought it would be a good idea to put everything in storage," she said.

Crown prosecutor Sally Carter said the fire caused "extreme loss" to many people and Bitossi's offending was at the most serious end of the scale.

"There would appear to be no mitigating factors," she added.

Bitossi's lawyer Douglas Ewen said his client never planned on harming so many people.

"There was certainly no intention to cause loss on anything close to the scale," Mr Ewen said.

Instead, the defence said, Bitossi started the fire because of a personal gripe at a time of "special susceptibility."

Justice France acknowledged Bitossi had personal problems just before the arson but said for privacy reasons he would not divulge details of those problems.

The judge said the arson Bitossi committed was unprecedented. "...The scale of personal loss and distress to over 300 people is unparalleled."

Bitossi showed little emotion apart from an occasional scowl and left the courtroom silently after he was sentenced.

Justice France found him guilty in December after a judge-alone trial at the same court.