A former firefighter has been arrested in connection to a deadly forest fire in Chile that killed 137 people in February.
Chilean police are accusing the 39-year-old suspect of starting at least one of the four simultaneous blazes that erupted in the Valparaíso region, near the coastal city of Viña del Mar, on 2 February.
The former emergency worker was a volunteer who also worked for Chile’s National Service for Disaster Prevention.
Authorities believe the man set the fire because ‘he likes to be a hero, participating and helping in emergencies,’ according to a police statement.
Local media reported that the suspect had previously been praised as a ‘hero’ for containing another fire.
A former firefighter has been arrested in connection to a deadly forest fire in Chile that killed 137 people in February
Despite later being disciplined by the fire service for acting without official orders, members of the local community praised him for his ‘fast’ action, according to BBC News.
The suspect is the third person to be arrested in connection with the deadly fire – which was suspected from the start by officers to have been deliberately set.
Two others – a fellow firefighter and a park ranger – have been in custody since May.
Prosecutors suspect the trio conspired to start the fires, with firefighter detained in May admitting that he and the park ranger had hoped to be rewarded with overtime pay for fighting them.
The 22-year-old firefighter admitted to lighting cigarettes and throwing them from his car to spark the blaze in the Lago Peñuelas national park, which spread rapidly due to strong winds and dried-out vegetation.
The fires, which swept through the hills around Viña del Mar and neighbouring towns Quilpué and Villa Alemana, destroyed thousands of homes and caused widespread devastation.
The area, popular with holidaymakers at the time, was packed with people seeking refuge from a heatwave.
In addition to the 137 lives lost, 16,000 people suffered financial losses, and more than 2,000 homes were reduced to ashes.
Authorities believe the former firefighter (not pictured) set the fire because ‘he likes to be a hero, participating and helping in emergencies,’ according to a police statement
The fires, which swept through the hills around Viña del Mar and neighbouring towns Quilpué and Villa Alemana, destroyed thousands of homes and caused widespread devastation
In addition to the 137 lives lost, 16,000 people suffered financial losses, and more than 2,000 homes were reduced to ashes
It’s the South American country’s worst disaster since the 2010 earthquake killed more than 500 people.
It comes after a 38-year-old Quebec man was found guilty for starting a series of devastating forest fires – which lead to hectares worth of damage across the Canadian province, displacing hundreds.
Brian Paré plead guilty in January to starting 14 forest fires, including fires in Chapais and Lake Cavan, at a courthouse in Chibougamau in Quebec.
Paré, who had been detained since his arrest, said little during the hearing, only responding ‘yes’ to a series of questions from the judge.
He had been charged 13 counts of arson and one count of arson with disregard for human life.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
