A German fireman has been sentenced to three years in prison without parole for an arson spree that caused £88,000 of damage. The 39-year-old fireman, who has not been named under German privacy laws, was found guilty of deliberately starting a series of 31 fires earlier this year. UK Telegraph reports:
The incidents all took place in a five-week spree in and around the fireman’s home town of Siegen in western Germany. After starting the fires, he would then turn up on the scene in his role as a fireman and put them out. At first, police were baffled as to who was behind the series of arson attacks. They were astonished when a local fireman was identified as the culprit was identified from CCTV footage of one of the attacks.
The fireman was seeking solace from an unhappy domestic life, the court heard. “He was humiliated by his wife and felt comfortable in the role of helper and saviour,” the judge said in her verdict. “In order to have that feeling as often as possible, he repeatedly started fires.” Earlier, the fireman had told the court that his wife treated him “like a doormat” and alleged she was violent towards him. But the judge said that could not excuse the fireman’s actions.“Over a period of five weeks earlier this year, he caused significant fear and anxiety in the population,” she said. The fireman began by setting a paper container on fire, then moved on to torching cars by pouring lighter fuel over the tyres. The spree culminated in an attack on a €23,000 (£16,000) motor-home that sent gas cylinders flying through the air. The attacks are estimated to have caused a total of €126,000 (£88,000) of damage, according to the police.In addition to a three-year sentence, the court ordered that the fireman repay the damage, and never be allowed to work as a firefighter again. “This is very hard for him,” the judge said. The case bears a disturbing resemblance to that of a German nurse who was jailed for life for killing more than 30 patients earlier this year.
