Arson firefighter and local elected official at origin of wildfire: “He’s not a suspect” | the world

The fire has now been extinguished. There were no casualties and no homes were damaged, the provincial Herald reported on Wednesday. Fortunately, Tuesday’s fire broke out in two places in a sparsely populated area, but the same source said it had burned 800 hectares. In total, nearly 650 firefighters were mobilized, supported by substantial air resources.

The suspect, who was arrested from Tuesday to Wednesday night, admitted to several fires in the department’s territory in recent weeks, notably in Saint-Private on May 22, in Saint-Jean-de-La on July 21, and in the same town from July 26 to 27, Blackvier and four others. The teacher was denounced by several witnesses, taken into police custody and later placed in pre-trial detention.

The 36-year-old father of two is well-known in the area. He is not only a volunteer firefighter and forester, responsible for preventing forest fires, but also… was elected deputy mayor of the village of Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaugère, where he lives, BFM TV notes. He was particularly passionate about his work and regularly posted photos of his accumulated activities on social networks. A “shy”, “intelligent” man who knows the terrain “exactly”, replies to the mayor of the village: “He is not suspected”, he is confident, stunned (see video below). The villagers and his colleagues are shocked.

Last year, during an interview given to the “Journal Toulouse”, the Man of the Fire made questionable comments: he had a “passion”, “adrenaline” there and fueled his “excitement” during the tasks. During her confession, she said that she had acted out of a “need for social recognition” and to “extricate herself from an oppressive family environment”.