Up to 27 lighters in the car: to jail for causing the serious Anoia fire

BarcelonaOne of the most complicated moments of this year's fire season was on July 6, when the Generalitat Firefighters had to face a difficult scenario of simultaneity with two worrying fires in Carme, in Anoia, and in Sentmenat while they were still fighting the flames in La Bisbal d'Empordà. The Anoia fire burned more than 450 hectares of forest and agricultural land, affected businesses and homes and required the confinement of seven nearby municipalities and the evacuation of a housing estate. Help was even requested from the Military Emergencies Unit (UME). This Thursday it has become known how the first spark of this fire was lit, and it was not an accident.

The Mossos d'Esquadra and the Agents Rurals have arrested a man, F.U.P., 58 years old, as the alleged perpetrator of this fire. The Agents Rurals were able to determine that the origin of the fire was on the shoulder of the BV-2131 road. There they located the half-burned remains of fragments of cardboard from a pack of beer cans. The investigation concludes that this cardboard would have been lit by the man already arrested.

The investigation, however, went further. The police and the Agents Rurals detected that in the last two years there had been a series of fires in the same very close area. All these fires had been deliberately set – without any arrest being made – or had no known cause. From here, investigators collected statements from several people who had allegedly passed through the area shortly before and after the fire started. They also reviewed security camera footage to determine which vehicles could be located at the scene.

Resident of Anoia and without background

All these actions have led to the identification of a man as the main suspect for having caused three forest fires. The last one was in Carme, but he has also been linked to another that originated on June 29 and a third that was registered in July 2024, all three in the same area. He is a 58-year-old man, a resident of Anoia, and had no prior record, according to police sources. The detainee was brought before the duty court of Igualada on Tuesday, July 28. As ARA has learned, he has been remanded in custody.

To send him to prison, in her ruling, the judge primarily took into account the evidence against F.U.P. and the risk of reoffending. From the testimony of witnesses and the analysis of cameras and the surroundings, it emerges that a vehicle owned by the investigated person, a red AIXAM, was at the exact point of origin of the Carme fire just before it started. Furthermore, there are witnesses who claim to have already seen that man throwing lit objects on previous occasions.

This Tuesday, the man was brought before the court, and the Public Prosecutor's Office also requested that he be remanded in custody. The public ministry also pointed to as evidence the discovery of up to 27 lighters in his car and paper in the co-driver's seat that could be used to start a fire, as well as other types of incendiary material.

Before the judge, the investigated person denied the facts and assured that he has never started a fire. He added that he drives on the road in question twice a day and that he smokes a pack and a half of tobacco per day. He continued that he bought a carton of tobacco weekly in La Pobla de Claramunt and that they give him lighters there. This justifies, in his opinion, why so many were found in his vehicle. His defense argued that the indications are not incriminating and that this explanation is compatible with the evidence collected by the police.

Modus operandi

The judge also points to a "modus operandi" for previous fires of which he is also suspected. "The testimonies that describe previous conduct by the investigated person consisting of throwing lit objects are not irrelevant, but rather allow the configuration of a stable behavioral pattern," states the judge, adding: "The location of the AIXAM type vehicle unequivocally linked to the investigated person at the exact ignition point and in the time frame immediately preceding the start of the fire, does not constitute a mere neutral coincidence, but rather data of high incriminating weight"-

Two weeks ago, ARA gained access to data from the Rural Agents classifying fires that have occurred in Catalonia since 1986 by their causes. This data shows that 25% of fires, one in four, have been intentional.