A 59-year-old man has been charged with felony arson for allegedly setting six separate fires in the Sindos area near Thessaloniki, after confessing to prosecutors that he lit the blazes to relieve work-related stress.
The man, who requested time before testifying and is now set to appear Friday, reportedly appeared remorseful and apologized during questioning, attributing his actions to exhaustion from his job.
According to a Mega television report, he told the prosecutor: "I wanted to unwind from work. Yesterday I took time off and left early. When I woke up in the afternoon, I drank two small glasses of retsina.
After I finished drinking, I took my car for a drive. I brought several napkins with me to use to start fires. I set the fires out of stupidity. I was releasing the exhaustion from my job. I had no particular reason for starting them, nor did I want revenge on anyone."
An eyewitness told ANT1 he was near the scene of one fire Tuesday afternoon when he noticed smoke and stopped, along with several other bystanders, to wait for firefighters.
"The moment the fire department arrived and began putting out the fire, that's when I saw this particular car drive past me," he said.
Security camera footage captured the man's actions, showing his blue car traveling along Pontou Street before stopping at the roadside.
The footage shows him exiting the vehicle, walking toward dry vegetation, bending down and setting fire to dried grass.