FIREFIGHTERS OF THE WEEK: TWISTED FIRE STARTERS
by Hazed
Firefighters in Sicily have been accused of making sure they get plenty of work – by starting fires themselves.
The volunteer firefighter squad consists of 15 people, and they get paid 10 euros per hour when they respond to fires (presumably that’s 10 euros each, not split between all 15 of them!) so you can see why they’d be keen to get called out frequently.
They are suspected of having set multiple fires, as well as reporting fake fires, over a two-year period.
A squad would normally have around 40 fires to attend during this time, but this squad had 120. GPS data shows they were always the closes to the incidents. The firefighters or their friends and family would phone in the details of the fires, sometimes using their personal cell phones, so that the squad could respond and get the payment.
The captain of the squad has been arrested, and the others are under investigation.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/08/firefighters_suspected_of_starting_fires_in_italy/