In response to the prosecutor’s motion, the court temporarily detained a 33-year-old resident of Żagań County (not Bolesławiec County, as previously stated in the announcement). – This man is suspected of causing an incident endangering property on a large scale in the form of a forest fire – explains Ewa Węglarowicz-Makowska from the District Prosecutor’s Office in Jelenia Góra.
He is not a member of any OSP unit from Bolesławiec Municipality.
What did investigators establish?
As established, on 5 April 2026, near the Kozłów and Biernatów forestry districts, the perpetrator deliberately started forest fires in 3 different locations – between 200 and 1,500 metres apart – and then… took part in extinguishing one of the areas as a volunteer firefighter.
In total, approximately 128 ares of forest owned by the State Forests were burned.
After being brought to the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bolesławiec, the 33-year-old was charged. He faces up to ten years in prison.
The man confessed to committing the alleged offence. He gave an explanation, stating that he had set fire to the forest out of stupidity.
He had not previously been convicted.
(Headline: illustrative photo).
Update
Lower Silesian Police Headquarters on the arrest:
Officers from the Criminal Division of the Bolesławiec County Police Headquarters and the Police Station in Kruszyn arrested a 33-year-old resident of Lubusz Voivodeship suspected of setting fire to a forest.
The incident occurred on 5 April this year in Bolesławiec County. During the day, travelling by motorcycle, the man deliberately started fires in three different locations, causing a fire that required the deployment of a dozen or so fire service units. It turned out that he then personally took part in the firefighting operation as a volunteer firefighter...
The suspect caused an incident endangering property on a large scale in the form of a fire in a forest belonging to the State Forests.
The perpetrator was identified and arrested as a result of a series of operational activities and the use of technical measures. Cooperation between police officers from the station in Kruszyn and foresters from Przemków Forest District also proved crucial.
On the basis of the evidence collected, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bolesławiec applied for the harshest preventive measure against the 33-year-old. The District Court in Bolesławiec granted the motion and decided to remand the man in custody for three months.
Causing a fire endangering property on a large scale is punishable by one to ten years’ imprisonment.