A volunteer firefighter arrested last Wednesday (27) in France confessed to having started forest fires in the south of the country in search of “adrenaline”, said the prosecutor of the city of Montpellier.
The accused, dubbed by the French press as a “pyromaniac firefighter”, said he was behind three fires, which took place on May 26, July 21 and July 26.
In mid-July, in the midst of a heat wave in France, two of the fires that hit the southwest of the country burned more than 20,000 hectares of forest.
“Asked about his motivations, he stated that he did so for the intervention of the fire brigade to take him out of an oppressive family environment and for the excitement and adrenaline, in his words,” the prosecution said.
The 30-year-old, who has not been identified, works primarily as a volunteer forest ranger and one of his duties is fire prevention.
If convicted, the firefighter could face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of €150,000, according to the prosecution.
His lawyer, Marie Bar, told a French TV channel that, during the interrogation, “he expressed a lot of regret and, above all, a strong feeling of shame”.
“He apologized to the firefighters he works with, which he calls his big family. He is someone with great devotion to his work,” said Bar. “In a way, he is relieved by the arrest. He has a hard time explaining it, he sees it as an addiction.”
