Firefighters ‘lit blazes’

FIFTEEN firefighters in Sicily are suspected of deliberately setting fires or having friends or family call in false alarms so they could be called to work and earn money, police said overnight, announcing the arrest of the alleged ringleader.

The 15 firefighters are volunteers, but when called in offduty they get 10 euros ($14) an hour in compensation from the Italian Government.

Police said sometimes the suspects set fire to trash containers or land in the countryside. Other times they got friends to call the national number for fire emergencies.