ROME – Police have opened a new investigation, probing into the causes of the series of fires in the capital over the past month, authorities reported on Monday. Mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, says he is certain that “the hands of man” are behind the alarming number of fires. 

 In an interview with newspaper Corriere della Sera, Gualtieri declared that is a certain that there is someone behind these fires, “through fault or wilful misconduct.”

 The latest fire hit the capital on Saturday afternoon in the Via Casilina area and the Centocelle archaeological park, affecting the eastern part of the city. In Valle Aurelia on July 4, another fire broke out, as well as nine fires on June 27 between Aurelia, Laurentina and Marino, and another on Via Bosco Marengo also on June 27. 

 Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office seeks to investigate the cause of Saturday’s fire and in particular some scrapyards in the area of Via Palmiro Togliatti.

 On Sunday, a spokesperson for the police reported that a prelimary report has already been sent to the prosecutor’s office to investigate this fire and other similar incidents in recent months.

 Gualtieri announced a plan of “preventative actions” to deal with the fire emergency in the capital, including three million euros to upgrade the hydrants and the reopening of the Albano landfill, affected by the fire that disrupted its waste collection cycle.

 “Above all,” he declared “we will go ahead with our decision to finally equip Rome with the facilities that a large European capital needs. “Rome’s lack of facilities,” he concluded “create a shameful and unacceptable situation, regarding the waste front.”

 Sabrina Alfonsi, councillor for Rome’s environment and waste, also points to criminal activity as the cause of the fire in Via Casilina. She announced her intention to file a complaint to the public prosecutor, as well as a report from the civil protection department. Regarding the capitals most recent fire, she claimed it was clearly arson, as there are no signs of self-combustion and the temperatures on Saturday were not high enough to warrant the fire. 

 Claudio Mancini, deputy of the Democratic Party, also pointing the finger to crime, declared that “it is now clear that Rome is under attack by vandals.”

 Alfonsi picked up on a common theme of the fires of the recent period in Rome, stating that, “the waste supply chain is involved in almost all of the fires,” adding that “the area where the fire started had recently been demolished and cleared and there was a waste sorting site there. The fire began here, and the flames followed the line of waste to reach the scrapyard.” 

 “That there are mafia motives behind this," she added “we cannot tell yet.”

 Following a summit in the Prefecture, Alfonsi stated that “greater coordination was established between the police regarding the investigations and fire prevention and territorial control.” A mapping of areas most at risk will be created. 

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