Chilean police arrested a firefighter on Friday. He is suspected of being at the origin of a mega fire which left 137 dead in early February in the town of Viña del Mar. “An arrest warrant was issued today against the author fires that occurred in the Valparaiso region, where the city of Viña del Mar is located, said Eduardo Cerna, the police director, during a press conference organized at the end of the investigation .
“The work in the field, the collection of evidence, the analysis and cross-checking of information made it possible to locate, establish behavioral models and geographical data of the movements” of the arrested firefighter, detailed Eduardo Cerna.
Huge human losses
According to local media, the arrested firefighter is 22 years old. He joined the fire brigade, which is not a voluntary force in Chile, a year and a half ago. In front of the press, Vicente Maggiolo, commander of the city’s 13th fire company, was shocked by the announcement of the arrest of the alleged perpetrator. “We are completely devastated by what happened, it is a completely isolated incident (…) we have taken care of Valparaiso for over 170 years and we cannot allow such things,” he said .
This vast fire started on February 2 around the town of Viña del Mar, located in the very touristy region of Valparaiso. According to official figures, 137 people died and more than 16,000 others were affected. This region of Chile has been ravaged many times by fires, notably between 2015 and 2019.