A normal working day for a brigadier of the Carabinieri Company of Catanzaro. It is about noon when the soldier, who is in civilian clothes and is on his way to work to undertake a patrol service, notices a man, his face partially covered with a hat and sunglasses, huddled in the brush near some houses but above all , on the edge of the Mediterranean Biodiversity park, a vast green area of the Calabrian capital, of about 60 hectares, dedicated to the flora and fauna typical of the Mediterranean area, in recent months affected by fires several times. The sergeant, who is aboard his car, stops and gets out, wants to see clearly why the man is unusually in that place and, above all, fumbles with something. As soon as the time to approach the soldier sees the fire: a small stake nearby is expanding and another has just been started. Having alerted the Operations Center for reinforcements, the sergeant constantly maintains eye contact with the man until, a few moments later, two Arma patrols arrive on the spot, engaged in the area for the service of the institute for the prevention and repression of offenses. The soldiers, now in strength, can therefore immobilize the man and also take care of the two small fires that are tamed with makeshift means. Once the area is secured, the man, a 33-year-old censored with drug addiction problems, is identified. The man confided to the soldiers of the Arma that he had given vent to his drive and that he found pleasure in the sight of the fire. He was then arrested for the crime of fire.
Another fire that could have threatened and spread on Monte Pollino was thwarted by the carabinieri of the Rotonda (PZ) station, during services set up in the Pollino National Park area aimed at preventing fires. This time, a 49-year-old farmer was stuck, caught while he was setting fire to the woodland.
For the technical surveys of the case the forest carabinieri intervened on the spot. The Parco del Pollino in this period is a destination for many Italian and foreign tourists. The Basilicata carabinieri will continue to be vigilant to protect this heritage as well.
