„Yes, it raises questions, which is why the involvement of the prosecutor's office is necessary to determine whether this is a complete coincidence or whether there were certain deliberate actions. I cannot say anything specific (..) Similar objects, at similar times, and the possibility of arson exists in such objects. And here the fundamental question arises: why set them on fire, perhaps to cause or destabilise the situation,“ Matulionis told reporters on Monday.
Seimas Chairman Saulius Skvernelis welcomed the prosecutors' decision to establish a working group on the recent fires.
„It's the right decision, because there are so many coincidences that unexpected fires keep breaking out in the waste incineration sector. Are these coincidences? Do these fires have other motives? I think the investigation team will have to answer these questions,“ Skvernelis told parliament reporters on Monday.
Renatas Požėla, Director of the Fire and Rescue Department (PAGD), confirmed on Monday that the prosecutor's office has set up a working group to investigate the recent fires in Lithuania.
„Today, we received information from the Vilnius District Prosecutor's Office that a working group is being formed at the prosecutor's office, an inter-institutional format that will investigate these events from various angles. (...)
We are talking about the recent high-profile fires related to the (waste–ELTA) recycling sector,“ Požėla told ELTA on Monday.
When asked whether law enforcement authorities were considering the possibility that the recent large fires could have been caused deliberately, the head of the Civil Protection and Disaster Management Department said that the investigators should provide the answer.
„The prosecutor's office wants to bring all institutional resources together in one place so that we can take a comprehensive look at this (the fires – ELTA) and work together to find an answer,“ Požėla emphasised.
ELTA reminds us that there have been several large-scale fires in Lithuania recently.
At the end of April, a fire broke out at the Energesman waste treatment plant on Jočionių Street in Vilnius. The flames were extinguished after about a day, and about 7,500 square meters of the building were destroyed in the fire. Law enforcement officials have launched an investigation into violations of environmental protection or natural resource use regulations or regulations governing the supervision or use of buildings in which hazardous materials are used or stored, which contain potentially hazardous equipment, or in which hazardous activities are carried out.
Last week, a fire broke out at the Kaunas cogeneration power plant in the village of Biruliškiai in the Kaunas district. This power plant processes waste and uses it to generate heat and electricity. Although the fire was extinguished in about an hour, seven fire trucks were needed to extinguish the flames.
Last week, a fire also broke out at a scrap metal yard in Alytus.
On Saturday, Plasta plastic factory in the capital caught fire. No employees were injured in the incident, and over 50 employees were evacuated from the premises. Seven fire trucks and a command vehicle were used to extinguish the fire.