Fires in France: the meticulous work of investigators who track down arsonists

To find out if a sample contains it, it is heated to more than 80°C in an oven. But the investigation is not so simple, especially in hot weather. “In forests that are very dry, very little energy is needed to activate and initiate a fire. On the other hand, we will have improvised fire systems with a retarder, or more artisanal things with matches and a cigarette in the middle”, details Pierre-Adrien Pelegrin officer of the gendarmerie. Last year, 2,300 forest fires were recorded in France, nine times out of ten of human, criminal or negligent origin.

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