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Fires burn in La Palma, Spain. (File photo) AP/Press Association Images

Man who defecated in the woods causes deadly forest fire after he lights toilet paper

A ranger has died in the fire.

A PARK RANGER died while fighting a blaze in the Canary Islands allegedly sparked by a German man who set fire to toilet paper after defecating in the woods.

Some 700 people were evacuated from areas near the blaze, which is sweeping through a wooded, mountainous area in La Palma, one of the lesser-known, unspoiled islands of the Spanish archipelago off the coast of Africa.

Emergency services said a further 1,800 were being moved from their homes on Thursday night as the blaze showed no sign of abating.

“The fire has not come under control yet,” Fernando Clavijo, regional president of the Canaries, told reporters.

The situation may get more complicated throughout the night. It’s not going to be easy.

The ranger, Francisco Jose Santana, died while working to put out the flames, said Spain’s UGT union of which the 54-year-old was a member.

“He leaves a wife and five children,” it added.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil police force told AFP a 27-year-old German man was arrested on Wednesday afternoon, suspected of having caused the fire.

The man, whose identity has not been revealed, “told officers he accidentally provoked the blaze when he defecated… and set fire to the toilet paper he used for that,” the Guardia Civil added in a statement.

The man has been accused of causing a forest fire through negligence and was due in court yesterday.

Some 200 people are fighting the blaze, as are helicopters and planes, a spokeswoman for the Canary Islands’ emergency services said.

Weather conditions are not making their task any easier, as high temperatures and strong winds fan the flames, she added.

Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sent his condolences to the park ranger’s bereaved family.

© – AFP 2016

Read: Spanish police investigating report that Irish teenager was raped >

Read: Three injured after apartment building collapses in popular Tenerife tourist resort >

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    Mute Karol Doran
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:07 PM

    Who sets fire to toilet paper after wiping their ass with it?

    352
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    Mute Periguin
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:14 PM

    A dumb-ass german, who thinks he’s saving the environment.

    209
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    Mute Beachmaster
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:14 PM

    Arseonists?

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    Mute Mise Éire
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:24 PM

    How many more Europeans have to die because of Germans?

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    Mute Conor Power
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:26 PM

    Well played beachmaster!

    119
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    Mute stevenocarroll
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:35 PM

    @Mise Éire

    It is because of hateful comments like yours directed at Germans who happen to be one of the sincerest people you can meet, they are tripping over themselves to try to be nice and “good”, so much so their own niceness ends up with results like above. The man obviously is so conscious of doing right by the environment and tried to make sure other people would not come upon used toilet paper.

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    Mute Diogenes
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:41 PM

    Serial killers and conspiracy theorists.

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    Mute Val Rossi
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    Aug 5th 2016, 5:08 PM

    @Beachmaster – excellent

    51
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    Mute Mise Éire
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    Aug 5th 2016, 5:12 PM

    What is in any way “hateful” about pointing out the bleedin obvious. Since Bismarck Germany has managed to make a dogs dinner of Europe economically, monetarily, militarily and politically. Lately Mutti Merkel has continued this trend.

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    Mute Niall O Neill
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    Aug 5th 2016, 6:48 PM

    @ Beachmaster. Shit hot comment. The one to beat!

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    Mute Brianog2
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    Aug 6th 2016, 1:03 AM

    Ha ha very anal

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    Mute Noirin Kavanagh
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    Aug 6th 2016, 6:23 AM

    Mise Éire, it’s nate full because all Germans are not to blame for the actions or misinformation put out by their government. Are you happy to be judged by the actions of the muppets we have running our country?

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    Mute Noirin Kavanagh
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    Aug 6th 2016, 6:23 AM

    *Hateful

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    Mute Tomás Ó Briain
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    Aug 6th 2016, 3:23 PM

    Don’t forget the other ‘Germanics’ the self-styled ‘Brits’. They have an awful lot of notches on their belts over the centuries and also in recent times. People who want yo rule the world are everywhere and they’ll do whatever it takes to achieve their ends. Remember it was the British who introduced the concentration camp, during the Boer War, leading to the deaths of many men, women and children.

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    Mute Noirin Kavanagh
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    Aug 7th 2016, 1:03 AM

    Not disputing that for a minute, Tomás, everywhere the British Empire held sway they left disaster in their wake, and now Merkel wants to run Europe. However, this guy in the Canaries is not representative of a bunch of people trying to rule the world,just an ordinary person probably who made a mistake he’ll regret for the rest of his life. It seems he owned up to it too. And the jokes are inevitable but a person lost their life because of it. Germans are just like everyone else, some good, some bad and some a pain in the ass. But all Germans didn’t vote for Merkel…..

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    Mute Paddy Lynn
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:09 PM

    That’s a miserable story. From beginning to end. Poor firefighters family and poor German tourist.

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    Mute Tom
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    Aug 5th 2016, 10:40 PM

    Yours is probably the only comment with genuine empathy for a bereaved family.
    I doubt the comments would be so cras if the victim were Irish.

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    Mute Blind Faith
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:14 PM

    All that chaos caused by one German turd who couldn’t control his sphincter . .Scheisse.

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    Mute Val Rossi
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:00 PM

    Well that answers that question: Does a German shit in the woods?

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    Mute Shaun Wright
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:03 PM

    Talk about having a shitty day

    67
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    Mute Liam Dunne
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:18 PM

    sure i’ll just sh*t here……whats the worst that could happen…………..

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    Mute Jimmy Rustle
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:34 PM

    Humans can’t even take a shit in the woods without destroying it

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    Mute Joey_Westland
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:48 PM

    Haha.

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    Mute Micheal OLainn
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:18 PM

    Burning toilet paper in dry woodlands in August was a reckless thing to do. It was asinine.

    Only a total ass wipe would do such a thing.

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    Mute gus sheridan
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    Aug 5th 2016, 8:53 PM

    Why would he burn toilet paper? Dont think hes telling the truth!

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    Mute Derek hutchings
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:09 PM

    His arse must have been on fire

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    Mute dearg doom
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    Aug 5th 2016, 8:00 PM

    It would never occur to me to burn the toilet paper. It would disintegrate fairly quickly so there’s no point.

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    Mute Apu Mohammed
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:01 PM

    Last time I set fire to a pile of poo it was Halloween and I’d left it on the neighbours doorstep

    #knickknacksurprise

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    Mute will
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:03 PM

    #nackerssurprise more like apu

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    Mute Apu Mohammed
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:55 PM

    #knacker

    #gramurpolice

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    Mute will
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    Aug 5th 2016, 5:37 PM

    Kaste or caste police apu bit like nackers

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    Mute Ryan Hardy
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:17 PM

    That’s why only bears shit in the woods

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    Mute neo1
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    Aug 5th 2016, 5:13 PM

    That’s crazy sh&t

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    Mute SilentFugitive
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:33 PM

    Flaming arse wipe.

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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:13 PM

    This is a crap story!

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    Mute Pascal Coleman
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    Aug 5th 2016, 6:03 PM

    Schitzel

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    Mute Patrick J O'CONNOR
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    Aug 5th 2016, 5:49 PM

    Ach-dung… Schmell…Shitzkrieg Kommen…

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    Mute Dotrice Altrium Hollohatch
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:08 PM

    Q – toilet jokes. We’re great at them!

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    Mute David Thomas
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:10 PM

    Plenty of toilet humour on here, alright

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    Mute paul kelly
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    Aug 5th 2016, 5:14 PM

    Ich scheiße im Wald

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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:12 PM

    Steaming!

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    Mute Paul Jennings
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    Aug 5th 2016, 8:15 PM

    When I first read the headline I thought, “this is all about spontaneous combustion!”…but it’s all about anal retentiveness.

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    Mute Kittieboom
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    Aug 5th 2016, 5:38 PM

    The efficency of Zie Germans lol . Thick prikkks . Could he not of used a baby wipe or a dock leave even . Probably has dementia and thought he was still SS

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    Mute Randy Rukus
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    Aug 5th 2016, 4:26 PM

    Probably the Pope, I believe he shits in the woods.

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    Mute mammy
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    Aug 5th 2016, 5:09 PM

    German bears with pointy hats shit in the woods

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    Mute funkytown
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    Aug 5th 2016, 7:31 PM

    That tourist should be made to wipe his arse with nettles for the rest of his life!!

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    Mute Derrick O Neill
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    Aug 5th 2016, 7:06 PM

    A ‘ring of fire’

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    Mute Gareth Lynch
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    Aug 5th 2016, 6:16 PM

    What a sh#thead

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    Mute FastBuck
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    Aug 8th 2016, 8:58 AM

    If a German shytes in the woods and there’s nobody about to hear it…?

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