The Judicial Court of Leiria commenced the trial of a 44-year-old woman today, charged with two alleged crimes of forest fire in the municipality of Pedrógão Grande, Leiria district.
The indictment reveals that the accused, currently under house arrest, reportedly started the fires on the afternoon of June 2, 2024.
During the court session, the woman stated to the panel of judges that she accidentally ignited ferns with her cigarette tip while walking. “I tried to put it out with my foot and couldn’t. I immediately called 117. It wasn’t intentional. It was an oversight,” she emphasized.
She denied knowing about another fire that started at the same time, stating, “The cigarette was lit in my hand, I didn’t throw it into the brush. I put it out with my foot.”
When questioned by the Public Prosecutor (MP) about the other fire, she replied: “I have no idea. I didn’t see anything.”
A GNR officer on patrol, who saw a column of smoke, reported the forest fire to the situation room.
While managing traffic, the officer was approached by the accused, who said she had alerted 117. “I contacted the situation room to ask if they had received any calls, and they said they hadn’t,” the officer disclosed.
According to the MP’s statement, on the afternoon of June 2, 2024, the woman left her home and during her regular walk towards the Vale de Góis area, entered a forest path where, after smoking, she threw the cigarette butt on the ground, “densely covered with brush and hay,” igniting a fire.
The fire spread, burning a forest area of approximately 200 square meters, the MP reported.
Continuing towards Vale de Góis, she allegedly lit another cigarette two minutes later and “placed it, lit, on the ground over dense brush and hay,” sparking another fire that burned around 4,500 square meters of forest.
The firefighter left the scene and, using her mobile phone, alerted the SOS Fire Line (117) before starting her return home, relayed the MP.
“The area where the fires broke out is a forest zone composed of eucalyptus, cork oaks, oaks, maritime pine, and underbrush, all in a continuous horizontal stretch of vegetative fuel, spanning hundreds of hectares near the Pedrógão Grande campsite,” where 22 people were located.
The fires were fought by 57 personnel, supported by 16 vehicles and three aircraft. “But for the prompt mobilization and intervention” of these resources, the fires “would have spread” to the surrounding forest area, the campsite, and the accused’s residence.
“The accused is a firefighter of about 22 years, currently inactive” due to “not being on duty for a year following conflicts with the fire chief,” the MP added.
The MP argues that the accused acted “with the actual intent to ignite” flammable vegetative materials.
The defendant, currently admitted to a psychiatric hospital, arrived with a nurse, whom the judge asked about her condition to stand trial. The healthcare professional confirmed the woman’s capability. Nevertheless, a request for her absence was granted for the next hearing.
The trial will resume on July 2 at 3:00 PM.
