The suspect “who had a significant alcohol level during his arrest” confessed after being “confronted with numerous testimonies collected by the investigators” of the fire in Ardèche.
A 44-year-old man suspected of having caused several fires to start on Wednesday in the Ardèche, with around 1,200 hectares burned, “admitted the facts with which he is accused”, the Privas prosecutor’s office announced in a press release on Thursday.
The suspect “who had a significant alcohol level during his arrest” confessed after being “confronted with numerous testimonies collected by the investigators” establishing his presence and that of his car at the start of the fires, according to the same source.
Placed in police custody late Wednesday morning at the Largentière gendarmerie company, the man must be presented on Friday before the investigating judge of the Privas court, according to prosecutor Cécile Deprade. A total of 12 fire starts were recorded on Wednesday in Ardèche, according to the press release.
“More precise hearings will come to draw the outline of his responsibility for all the fire starts”, specified the prosecutor of Privas.
The intervention of 600 firefighters supported by five canadair, a Dash plane, a helicopter and a hundred ground vehicles made it possible to fix the fire Thursday morning, without victims to deplore and without destruction of housing, according to the authorities.
Firefighters noted a resumption of fire in the early afternoon, according to information obtained by AFP from the command of relief operations in Ardèche.