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

BarcelonaOne of the most complicated moments of this year's fire season was last 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 development. 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 found 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 now-arrested man.

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 would have passed through the area shortly before and after the fire started. They also reviewed security camera footage to determine which vehicles could have been at the scene.

Resident of Anoia and without a record

All these investigations 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 with no prior record, according to police sources. The detainee was brought before the duty investigating court in Igualada on Tuesday, July 28. As the ARA has been able to learn, he has been remanded in custody.

To send him to prison, in her ruling, the judge primarily considered 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 is clear that a vehicle owned by the investigated person, a red Aixam, was at the exact spot where the Carme fire started just before the fire appeared. Furthermore, there are witnesses who claim to have previously seen that man throwing lit objects on previous occasions.

This Tuesday, the man appeared in court, and the Public Prosecutor's Office also requested that he be remanded in custody. The public ministry also pointed to the evidence found, such as up to 27 lighters in his car and paper in the passenger 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 stated that he has never started a fire. He added that he drives along the road in question twice a day and that he smokes a pack and a half of tobacco per day. He explained that he bought a carton of tobacco weekly in La Pobla de Claramunt and that they gave him lighters there as a gift. In his opinion, this justifies 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 for which he is also suspected. "The testimonies describing previous conduct by the investigated person consisting of throwing lit objects are not irrelevant, but rather allow for 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 taken place in Catalonia since 1986 by their causes. This data shows that 25% of fires, one in four, have been intentional.