Volunteer firefighter among suspects in Fontainebleau fires
A volunteer firefighter is among those detained following fires that devastated more than 2,000 hectares of forest in Seine-et-Marne.
Volunteer firefighter among suspects in Fontainebleau fires
Law enforcement carried out six arrests following the multiple outbreaks of fire that ravaged Fontainebleau Forest and its surroundings. Ultimately, four people remain in custody with investigators, two having been released due to insufficient evidence.
The fire has already destroyed more than 2,000 hectares of vegetation. Approximately 850 firefighters were still mobilised on Tuesday 14 July to attempt to control the flames. Magistrate Diane Ngomsik-Kamgang, who heads the local prosecution office, announced that a judicial investigation for fires occurring on 12 and 13 July 2026 had been initiated.
Everything began on Sunday 12 July near the A6 motorway, in the 77 department. The blaze quickly spread to the forest. Following witness statements collected, two suspects were apprehended on Tuesday morning.
The day after this first outbreak, new flare-ups were reported in Arbonne-la-Forêt and in Fontainebleau. Citizens alerted the gendarmes, who detained three men near the blazing areas.
Among them is a young volunteer firefighter, born in 2007, who had never been recorded in the criminal register. He confessed to lighting twigs using a lighter and petrol in Arbonne-la-Forêt. His employer, the SDIS 77, immediately suspended him. In a statement, the service described these acts as a betrayal of residents and a violation of the principles that guide firefighters.
Another teenager, also born in 2007 and with no criminal history, admitted to causing a fire outbreak unintentionally by crushing a cigarette near Grand Parquet, not far from La Faisanderie. The two young men do not know each other. Their detention has been extended.
A third suspect, a man in his forties born in 1975 and previously unknown to police, was placed in provisional detention. The prosecution indicated that additional investigations were underway on other affected areas, as soon as access becomes possible.
A sixth person, a man born in 2005 already convicted of traffic code offences, had been arrested in connection with the same fire as the second suspect. His detention, like that of the man in his forties, was terminated. The prosecutor justified this decision by the absence of conclusive evidence to date.
Information from: CNews
Source: Google News LU FR