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Man arrested for starting fires in Mallorca

Arsonist suspected of starting fires in Mallorca is arrested

featured in News & reviews Author James Fisher, Mallorca Video Reporter Updated

A 23 year old man was arrested in Mallorca on Monday for deliberately starting fires in the Palma area. The man, who has been identified by Ultimahora as Daniel VA is a 23 year old Spaniard, was caught in the early hours of Monday morning when a woman reported the fire and mentioned that she had seen a young man fleeing from the blaze with a bag. The police arrived at the scene and interviewed more witnesses who also reported seeing the young man. Once the fire brigade had smothered the flames a parked car was spotted and the driver matched the description of the suspect. The man was found with five litres of fuel in a can and a lighter and the police arrested him.

There have been a wave of fires this summer in Mallorca. On Tuesday this week there were forest fires reported in Palma, Llucmajor and Arta and a fire last Monday in the Son Vida area destroyed 3.6 hectares of pine forest. The police believed that these fires were the work of an arsonist and that he was also responsible for fires in Na Bourgeois, Costa d'en Blanes, Caliu and Andratx. In all these cases fire investigators saw similar patterns and believed they were seeing the work of one arsonists but saw different patterns in other fires on the island and beleived that there may be another man working seperately.

In some cases the fires had been started when conditions were optimum to cause the most damage. The so called rule of 30-30-30; thirty degrees, thirty percent humidity and thirty km/h of wind, creates fires that burn the most effectively and in many cases investigators noticed that fires had occurred when conditions like these were present.

Hopefully the man caught this week will be brought to trial and these fires will stop.