Thirty firefighters were called to deal with a £38,000 blaze started deliberately outside a Hereford nightclub.
Burning debris from a wheelie-bin outside the Crystal Rooms was sucked in through an air duct, a jury was told.
Anthony Warner, prosecuting, alleged 19-year-old Ashley Walwyn set fire to rubbish in the bin with a match after leaving another club on June 6 last year.
Fortunately, the Crystal Rooms were closed to the public that night. But people in nearby flats had to be evacuated.
Walwyn denies a charge of arson while reckless whether lives were endangered.
Club owner Clive Davies told police in a statement that the fire at the Bridge Street nightspot caused widespread damage to the rear and interior.
A first floor store was gutted. A number of fridges melted in the heat and beer lines were destroyed, Worcester Crown Court heard.
Smoke damage meant the whole of the club interior had to be repainted. Furnishings had to be cleaned or replaced.
The wheelie bin in the incident had come from another business premises. All the club's bins were locked away in a yard.
Leading firefighter Colin Taylor described how crews raced to the premises at 10.30pm after an automatic fire alarm sounded.
He said flames reached the top of the building. Firemen with breathing apparatus had to go inside to fight the blaze for more than three hours before it was brought under control.
The jury heard that Walwyn, of Hunderton Road, Hereford, and three friends had been to The Jailhouse nightclub in Hereford that evening, leaving about 10pm.
One friend Robert Jones gave evidence that the defendant stopped to urinate at the rear of the Crystal Rooms, then ran past and told them to run too.
He claimed Walwyn confessed he had "done something" and said the bin had been on fire.
Another friend Keith Eversham said the defendant had a box of matches in the club.
A fortnight after the blaze, Walwyn denied he was the arsonist to Mr Eversham and blamed Mr Jones.
The trial continues.
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