What kind of person starts a forest fire? Portrait of an arsonist in Spain

More than half of forest fires in Spain are started deliberately, but why do people light wildfires and who would do such a thing?

Why do people start wildfires in Spain?

What kind of person deliberately starts a forest fire?

1. The Seriously Reckless Country-dweller: The system produces a profile of a man over 46 years of age who is married, self-employed, with a job in the countryside, with no previous history and no psychological problems. He usually starts fires in spring, autumn or winter, in the morning or in the evening, with a single fire that starts near an agricultural area and does not use any accelerants or retardants. Witnesses are those who warn authorities about the fire.
2. The Arsonist without a Cause: Most arsonists are also men, but in this case under 46 years of age, single, separated or widowed. He is unemployed or has little income, lives alone and does not have many friends. He commits his crime in summer, under cover of darkness, and sets more than one fire in a high-risk area. He travels there on foot, because he lives nearby. And he starts burning on a road or track near the forest. It is his neighbours who report the fire. The perpetrator neither stays on the spot nor helps to extinguish the fire. He usually uses a lighter to start the fire, has done it before and is a man who is already receiving psychological treatment. What’s more, he uses drugs or alcohol or both, and acts under their effects.
3. The Man who Lights Fires for Financial Gain: This man is also self-employed and lives with his partner, has an elementary level education and has an income of between 600 and 1,200 euros per month. He mostly lights fires in autumn and winter – more than one – and does it on the road for livestock or hunting purposes. He also usually lives in the same locality as the fire, travels to the scene by jeep, uses a lighter or something similar and sometimes it is he himself who warns firefighters of the fire. He is usually a serial arsonist.
4. The Vengeful Fire Starter: There are not many cases of fires started for revenge and so the sample is still too small to be able to draw an accurate profile. Even so, with what little data is available, the portrait is very similar to that of the Arsonist without a Cause, with the difference that he is even more maladjusted and has very little social contact. He also generally already has a criminal record for crimes of this sort.