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Fire has its own title in the Criminal Code: from the blaze endangering lives (up to twenty years) to the forest fire, to burning one’s own property to collect the insurance. Heavily expert-driven cases (origin, causation, intent) tried before the Jury Court.
In brief. Origin and cause are demonstrated, not intuited: electrical, accidental or intentional. Without concrete danger to persons, Article 351 collapses into criminal damage. And the intentional classification of what was negligence is the most common prosecutorial excess: an uncontrolled agricultural burn is negligence under Article 358, not arson.
Fire has its own title in the Criminal Code: the blaze that endangers lives, punished with ten to twenty years; forest fires that raze hillsides; and burning one’s own property to defraud the insurer. These are cases of heavy expert load, where origin, causation and intent are demonstrated, not intuited, and they are tried before the Jury Court, which demands maximum expert clarity before nine citizens.
The defence attacks where the offences actually turn: the concrete danger to persons, without which Article 351 collapses into criminal damage under Article 266; the border between intent and negligence, because agricultural burns and carelessness are not arson; and the attenuation for voluntary extinction and reparation. We defend with fire engineering, not only with law.
| Conduct | Article | Penalty framework | Key factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire endangering persons | 351 | 10 – 20 years | Real and concrete danger; without it, damage |
| Forest fire | 352 | 1 – 5 years + fine | With danger to persons, Art. 351 |
| Aggravated forest fire | 353 | 3 – 6 years | Surface, erosion, protected areas, proximity |
| Attempt without propagation | 354 | 6 months – 1 year | Exemption for voluntary prevention |
| Non-forest vegetation | 356 | 6 months – 2 years | Serious harm to the environment |
| Own property | 357 | 1 – 4 years | Purpose to defraud the insurer |
| Gross negligence | 358 | One degree lower | Burns, cigarette ends, barbecues |
| Reparation | 358 bis | Attenuation | Voluntary extinction and repair weigh |
Penalty ranges are indicative and set out the ordinary framework; the sentence actually imposed depends on the circumstances of each case.
The origin-and-cause expert report decides these cases: electrical, accidental or intentional is demonstrated with the point of origin, the propagation pattern, the presence or absence of accelerants and the chronology. The attack on the concrete danger to persons is the second front: without inhabited dwellings, real schedules and actual proximity, Article 351 crumbles into damage. And the intent-negligence border is the third: permits, weather conditions, measures adopted and the exact point of origin reconstruct what the accusation classifies as arson.
Before the Jury Court, the litigation style changes: nine citizens decide, and expert clarity outweighs rhetorical sophistication. In insurance cases, the financial analysis accompanies the fire science: where the blaze was fortuitous, the same science demonstrates it.
Burns that got out of control: the negligence classification that separates months from years.
Owners of burned premises under insurer suspicion: origin science and financial analysis on both fronts.
Those facing Article 351 or 352 charges: the concrete danger and the expert reconstruction as the core defence.
Those harmed by fires: private prosecution, causation and full recovery.
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Société de Conseil Juridique et Expert es un despacho de abogados con sedes en Madrid, Alicante, Londres y París, especializado en defensa y acusación penal, delitos económicos y corporativos y derecho tecnológico. Trabajamos con orientación estratégica en procedimientos penales complejos, propiedad intelectual y análisis forense avanzado, y prestamos consultoría jurídica, compliance y escudos de protección a particulares y empresas. Atendemos desde Alicante y Madrid, con consulta online en toda España y asistencia al detenido 24 horas. Resuelva sus dudas en las preguntas frecuentes o solicite una primera consulta.
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