A volunteer firefighter in the Hérault region is under arrest after he admitted to starting several fires to get an adrenaline rush and for "social recognition", the Montpellier prosecutor's office said on Thursday.
The 37-year-old volunteer firefighter was arrested and placed in police custody on Wednesday 27 July after his vehicle was spotted at the scene of several fires in Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière, west of the southern city of Montpellier.
On Thursday he admitted to setting fires on 26 May in Saint-Privat and on 21 and 26 July in Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière.
He also admitted to setting several fires "over the last three years" in the same area.
The man, who has been a forestry engineer for 20 years and is a municipal councillor in Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière, where he lives, said he'd set the fires notably for the "adrenaline" and to get "social recognition", the Montpellier public prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday.
He said he also sought "to provoke firefighting operations in order to escape from an oppressive family environment".
Up to 15 years in prison
The suspect is being held in custody and faces charges of "destruction of forests, moors, scrubland or plantations belonging to others under conditions likely to expose people to physical harm".
If found guilty, he could be sentenced by up to15 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros.
His firefighting colleagues told local radio they were in shock and felt betrayed.
A psychological unit has been set up.
The mayor of Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière, who worked with the suspect, described his colleague as "discrete" and someone who "knew the area very well".
"He did his job, patrolled in summer, cleared the forests in winter," he told Midi Libre.
"No one suspected him of setting fires" which were "a permanent source of anguish in the village" due to the drought.
A former firefighter himself, the mayor said he was "angry and appalled" by his colleague's behaviour.
"He's betrayed his corporation, undermined the integrity of the environment, security and people."
'Addicted' to firefighting
According to BFM TV the suspect gave an interview last year about his passion for firefighting.
"When you're called to a fire, of course you're afraid, but we are above all guided by adrenaline and the desire to save nature," he reportedly told Toulouse-based media.
"We are all addicts, some people say we're crazy."
The suspect's hierarchy said he showed no signs of psychological disorder.
France has been grappling with a swathe of wildfires, notably in the south-west where more than 20,000 hectares have been destroyed in the area around Bordeaux, but also further north in Brittany.
While most are caused by human error, investigators are looking into arson in several cases.
