Fire Update

Remember that fire we had the end of January?  Although I am still grateful that things worked out so that we did not lose everything and that no one was seriously injured, I can't help but be a little upset about the way that things have progressed since then.  Our neighbor lady and the guy who apparently set the fire (privacy fence neighbor lady's 40 year old nephew) never came over to help us get the fire out, nor did they call to make amends.  They did not even bother to call and see if everyone was okay when the ambulance pulled up into my yard.
Even though the fire department and Joe got the fire out before it completely engulfed our old house, it still managed to do quite a bit of damage beforehand.  The guy who set the fire had to go to court the first of March to pay his fine for setting a fire during the period that there was a ban on burning because of weather conditions.  We were told to come to court that day as well with an estimate to repair the damages.  We got a contractor to come out and give us an estimate. (Which was a lot higher than I thought it would be but then again I was looking at the surface and not taking into consideration all of the things that were deemed no longer safe by the fire marshal) When we got to court, the guy told the judge that he lived with his Aunt rent free, had recently gotten out of prison, and did not have any source of income.  He did not even have enough money to pay his $100 fine.  The judge advised us to get a lawyer and sue him and his Aunt (the property owner) for the amount of the damages. 
That really was not what I wanted to hear.  I have never sued anyone for anything and I'm really not sure how I feel about it.  After court that day, Joe and I drove over to the neighbor lady's house and spoke with both her and her nephew.  Joe asked the nephew if he would be willing to physically help out with the repairs and maybe we could just resolve this peacefully.  The nephew said (paraphrasing here because I was so shocked I can't remember his exact words) that he did not have to do anything, we needed to take it to court and let the courts decide the outcome.  He said the worst thing they could do to him was to lock him up and he had been through that already and it wasn't so bad!
Really???  Now I know that this guy did not intentionally set our house on fire...at least I would hope not.  It was a mistake, and while I do not think that his life should be ruined over a mistake, I do think that there should be some consequences.  So the question I keep coming back to is whether or not the $100 fine is enough of a consequence for him, and whose place is that to decide?  I don't know who gets the benefit from the fine.  I would hope that it goes to the firefighters who dropped everything they were doing that day to come out and help us.
We did go see a lawyer who sent them a letter asking for the home owner's insurance information.  So far they have not responded to that.  For now, Joe has put up heavy plastic over the windows and door to prevent any further damage from the elements, but we have not started any other repairs.
As a Christian, where is the balance between demanding restitution from someone who has wronged you and letting them walk all over you?