He Burned Boxes in his Garden: Man Convicted of Starting a Fire near Saint-Nazaire

This Friday 24th July, a 54-year-old man received a six-month suspended prison sentence for involuntary destruction of property. It caused a fire which burned eight hectares in a field in Montoir-de-Bretagne (Loire-Atlantique).

I didn’t think. Hand hanging on the desk, the 54-year-old man speaks in a low voice. It’s hard to hear it. Friday 24th July, he appeared before the Saint-Nazaire criminal court for having involuntarily triggered a fire which ravaged eight hectares of field on the 17th July in Montoir-de-Bretagne.

That afternoon, the defendant burned waste, mainly cardboard, in his garden. He sees the fire going out, so he doesn’t worry. But around 6:45 p.m., a fire broke out at a place called Camé, near a residential area. Around thirty firefighters intervened. Around forty houses were evacuated.

“I didn’t make the connection”

When the flames flew around the neighboruhood, I didn’t make the connection, he hesitates, scratching his eyes to hold back his tears. Like neighbours, he calls the firefighters to alert of the fire. The next day he had to go on vacation. He leaves as planned. At the hearing, he cannot explain how he questions his involvement in the facts. Still, when he returned from vacation on the 22nd July, he went to the gendarmerie to confess the facts.

On the benches of the courtroom around ten victims listen to his testimony. They are his neighbours. At the end of the hearing, the defendant turns to the audience with his hand placed on his heart: I’m really sorry. It was extremely hard for me. As he leaves the room, a neighbour speaks to him: We were very scared. We saw the flames on our houses.

With an empty criminal record, the defendant was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment with a two-year probationary suspension. He will also have to complete a citizenship course and compensate the victims.

However, it is too early to quantify the damage caused by the fire. The judge therefore arranged to meet all the civil parties on the 15th April 2027 for a hearing on civil interests.