28-year-old man arrested in Pavia, Lombardy, on suspicion of setting fire to hedges and rubbish binsA volunteer firefighter has been filmed starting a blaze in northern Italy at a time when the country is struggling to cope with a spate of wildfires. A 28-year-old man was arrested in Pavia, Lombardy, on suspicion of setting fire to hedges and rubbish bins before returning to his force’s base, alerting colleagues and rushing with them to put out the blaze. Firefighters across Italy have been tackling wildfires caused by a European-wide heatwave, with nine regions urgently appealing for water planes. It comes after 15 firefighters were arrested in Sicily on suspicion of starting blazes in order to receive bonuses. “Cuts mean we have 3,500 fewer firemen than necessary, which has led in some cases to a hurried use of volunteers.”He said more stringent psychological tests needed to be carried out on volunteer firefighters.

Source: The Guardian August 11, 2017 15:56 UTC