A professional forestry engineer, local councillor and volunteer firefighter at a small fire station in the Hérault department admitted on Thursday to having started a series of fires over the past three years near Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière.
This man in his forties "admitted to having caused, by using a lighter", several fires between 21 and 26 July. The first took place on 21 July and four others this week, the public prosecutor stated in Métropolitain/Actu.fr.
Thrilled by the firefighters’ intervention
The adrenaline and the thrill were his main motivations, he told the investigators. According to the prosecutor speaking to Métropolitain/Actu.fr, he also reportedly wanted to “escape from an oppressive family environment” and felt he was seeking “social recognition”.
A judicial investigation has been launched by the Montpellier Public Prosecutor’s Office into "the destruction of forests in circumstances likely to expose people to bodily harm". He faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine of €150,000. He is currently suspended from his duties as a firefighter, and SDIS 34 is expected to strike him off the register permanently in the near future.