A woman has been sentenced after she set two wildfires in Greece for a very unusual reason.
The 44-year-old started two separate blazes so that she could speak to the firefighters who came to tackle them.
Reports have said that the woman had attempted to set multiple fires, resulting in two wildfires breaking out due to her actions.
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Now the Tripoli resident has been sentenced to a suspended 36-month prison sentence and a fine of €1,000 (around $1,106) for the crimes.
The fire department confirmed that the woman had been arrested in a statement, saying she was 'arrested today, August 26, 2024 by investigating officers of the Police Department of Tripoli'.
The statement added: “A Greek citizen, who is responsible for causing two fires on farmland, intentionally and repeatedly (on August 24th and 25th), in the area of Kerasitsa, in the Municipality of Tripoli in Arcadia.”
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As for exactly why she had set the fires, it was because of the firefighters.
A statement said that she set the fires because 'she enjoyed watching firefighters and flirting with them'.
According to reports from Greece’s Skai TV she set the fires as she had wanted to meet a man in uniform.
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Her presence at both of the fires which were attended by firefighters drew the suspicion of the officers attending them.
The woman's three-year-long prison sentence was suspended, meaning that she would not go to prison immediately.
However if she is convicted of another crime within a set time period then the three year suspended sentence is added to any further sentence she would receive.
Fortunately both fires affected small plots of land and were quickly brought under control by the fire department.
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Wildfires are no small matter in Greece, with the country experiencing terrifying wildfires in August 2024.
Some of these even came close to the outskirts of the capital Athens, with 36-year-old volunteer George telling the BBC it was 'like hell'.
He added: "We don’t have the resources to beat those conditions."
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Thousands of people had to be evacuated as the blaze tore through forest, farmland, and homes, with the cause of the blaze currently under investigation.
Successive droughts heatwaves, hot even for Greece, have left large areas of the country especially vulnerable to wildfires.
Not only that, but heatwaves in Greece are becoming hotter and lasting longer.
Dry ground and vegetation means that fires can spread out of control rapidly, forcing evacuations as homes are consumed.
UNILAD has reached out to representatives of the fire department in Tripoli, Greece for comment.
Topics: News, World News, Crime
Kit Roberts