Six voluntary firemen from the southern town of Nowy Korczyn are suspected of having deliberately started fires for bonus money.

The men, aged 16 to 23, are alleged to have repeatedly set local forests and fields on fire in order to receive more money for fire-extinguishing operations.

Four of them are accused of damaging state property by setting it on fire for financial gain. The firemen could face up to eight years imprisonment.

Some of the firemen have already pleaded guilty.  

Since the beginning of 2009,  there have been numerous fires of forest, fields and meadows in Nowy Korczyn and Solec-Zdroj. In March and April, the voluntary fire brigade had to extinguish over 50 fires.

Police started suspecting that the cause of the fires was not only draught but also arson and soon established that the firemen had known about the fires before they were reported. (mg/pg)