He was above suspicion. The arrest and indictment, Thursday, July 28, of a firefighter suspected of being at the origin of several fires in the Hérault created a great stir in the village of Saint-Jean-de -la Blaquière, where this 37-year-old man, municipal councilor and president of the firefighters’ association, has always lived. A new case of “arsonist firefighter” which raises the question of the methods of recruitment in the barracks. Because the profile of these firefighters ready to start fires is not easy to identify.
“Arsonist firefighters have a good ability to adapt, and they lie to everyone about the pleasure they get from seeing fire”, explains psychologist and criminologist Jean-Pierre Bouchard. This is why they often go incognito, despite the medical examinations they undergo.
“Most arsonists have a completely normal social facade. They have a family, a social and professional integration that does not suggest this type of behavior.”
Jean-Pierre Bouchard, psychologist and criminologistat franceinfo
The suspect arrested in the Hérault has thus admitted to being at the origin of fires dating for some from three years ago.
All firefighters, whether professional or voluntary, nevertheless undergo a medical examination – physical and psychological – when they are recruited. An annual medical visit is also mandatory. “But it’s very complicated to detect these profiles… He deceived everyone”testifies the spokesman for the firefighters of the Hérault, Jérôme Bonnafoux, about his colleague indicted.
To spot these dangerous personalities, the barracks are sometimes powerless. In the Gard, a psychologist has joined the ranks of the department’s firefighters, but this is not the case everywhere. “He participates in the recruitment, the whole personality of the candidate is evaluated to see if there is not an incompatibility with the mission”explains Eric Agrinier, the head of communication for the Gard firefighters.
An initiative viewed favorably by Jean-Pierre Bouchard, who insists on the need to have “psychologists trained in the problems of dangerousness”, able to detect the possible strategies of certain candidates to hide aspects of their personality.
To prevent these individuals from joining the ranks of firefighters, other levers are sometimes mentioned. The National Federation of Firefighters thus requests access to all criminal records at the time of recruitment.
For the moment, the departmental fire and rescue services (Sdis) can only request a B2 criminal record extract, which does not list all the offenses and some of which are erased after a certain period. Access to B1, the most comprehensive bulletin, is however reserved for judicial authorities.
Of the 250,000 French firefighters, the phenomenon of “firefighters-arsonists” concerns only a few individuals. But the consequences of their actions can be dramatic. “Obviously, zero risk does not exist, but we do our best to avoid it”assures Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Agrinier.