A former French volunteer firefighter was remanded in custody Thursday, after he was suspected of being the author of two fires in early August in Hérault, AFP reports.
According to the report, the former French volunteer firefighter, suspected of being the author of two fires in early August in the Hérault , was placed in pre-trial detention on Thursday, the public prosecutor of Béziers announced on Saturday.
The former French volunteer firefighter identified as 33-year-old man, will appear on September 28 before the Béziers criminal court for these two fires. He faces 10 years in prison, said prosecutor Raphaël Balland, the report added.
The report by AFP also added that on August 2, around 7 p.m., the Hérault fire and rescue services responded to a vegetation fire in the natural and agricultural area of Pezenas. The fire, extinguished in two hours, had spread over 500 m² without causing any damage to homes.
The former French volunteer firefighter was an alcoholic
The gendarmes of Pezenas were then alerted to the presence on the scene of an individual with suspicious behavior who had also been seen in the afternoon near a first start of fire, quickly circumscribed by the firefighters.
Arrested on the day of the events when he was drunk, he ended up admitting, after his sobering up, to be the author of the fire of the evening. On the other hand, he disputed any responsibility in the first outbreak of fire and explained his gesture by his alcoholism, said the prosecution.
In front of the gendarmes, he declared to live in Villeurbanne (Rhône), to have been a volunteer firefighter in Ardéche between 2008 and 2011 and to have come to Hérault with his companion to visit her family.
47,000 hectares burned since the start of the year
The man, already convicted of acts of violence by a spouse, was referred on August 4 to the Béziers prosecutor’s office.
At the end of July, already in the Hérault, a forester, also a volunteer firefighter, had admitted in police custody to being the author of several fires explaining his actions by the adrenaline rush they caused and a need for “recognition social”.
With already more than 47,000 hectares burned since the start of the year, France experienced a record number of burned areas in July , the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) announced on Friday, which keeps statistics. comparable since 2006.
(AFP)