The ex-volunteer firefighter was placed this Saturday, August 6 in pre-trial detention after having voluntarily started a vegetation fire in the town of Pézenas.
Article written by
Posted
Reading time : 1 min.
A former volunteer firefighter was placed in pre-trial detention for the voluntary outbreak of a vegetation fire in a natural and agricultural area north of the town of Pézenas indicates, in a press release, the Béziers prosecutor’s office which requested a psychiatric expertise of the person concerned.
>> “Normal people with contained violence”, “hyperactive people”… What is the profile of arsonists?
On August 2, the fire had spread over nearly 500 m² without causing any damage to homes. “The gendarmes of the Pézenas territorial brigade were informed of the suspicious behavior of a man present at the scene [de l’incendie] and who had also been seen earlier in the afternoon on a first start of fire quickly contained by the firefighters“, details the parquet floor of Béziers.
The same day of the events, the gendarmes managed to identify and arrest the suspect, alcoholic. After his sobering up, the 33-year-old man, resident of Villeurbanne and former volunteer firefighter in the department of Ardèche between 2008 and 2011, admitted to being the author of the fire. “He indicated that he regretted his action, which he explained by his alcoholism“, specifies the parquet floor of Béziers.
The suspect, already convicted of acts of violence by spouse, denied being at the origin of the first outbreak of fire. Referred and placed in pre-trial detention, he will appear on September 28, 2022 before the criminal court for the two fires. He faces a 10-year prison sentence.
On July 28, another volunteer firefighter from Hérault was indicted and remanded in custody. He is suspected of being the cause of eight fires this summer in the department.