Pyromaniac strikes again in La Bonanova

by Staff Reporter
THE pyromaniac who seems intent on destroying La Bonanova struck again in the early hours of yesterday morning, causing two new fires.
According to fire brigade sources, he has changed the times he normally operates and is playing with them.
There have been 15 deliberate fires in the area since July, yesterday's starting near the Calle Joan de Saridakis, destroying a pine grove. Both fires were quickly brought under control. It is alleged that the same person who is suspected of starting the fires also set alight three cars earlier in the week. The Mental Health director of Palma's Psychiatric Hospital, César Azpeleta, confirmed yesterday that “one of the motives that can trigger the actions of a pyromaniac is the publicity that is being enjoyed by another one of his kind”. He warned that people suffering from this type of illness “often repeat patterns of behaviour”. Azpeleta enlarged on the motivations and the character profile of a pyromaniac who could be responsible for the fires currently under investigation by the Guardia Civil in La Bonanova (Palma) and Montuïri. He pointed out that pyromaniacs usually get “maximum enjoyment” out of the fires they provoke and that, on occasions, they mix with the volunteers who help in putting out the flames. He went on to detail that differences between fire-raisers and pyromaniacs are rooted in the reasons for which they start fires in the first place. “The fire-raiser is someone who has a motive, vengeance, for example, or economic problems. He could also be suffering from another type of illness such as schizophrenia in which, the fire-raiser might believe he is going to save himself or the world by setting light to his surroundings”, he suggested. The pyromaniac, on the other hand, “is a very concrete pathological case”. He is someone who “gets pleasure out of seeing something burn”.