Chilean firefighter and former forestry official arrested over deadly forest fire

In Chile, a volunteer firefighter and a former forestry official were arrested for starting a deadly fire earlier this year.

One of the suspects allegedly told investigators they started the February fire – which killed 137 people – for financial reasons, CNN reported.

Firefighter Francisco Mondaca, 22, is accused of starting the fire. Flares and fireworks were found in his vehicle.

Franco Pinto, a former employee of the National Forestry Company, is accused of planning the fire,

It is one of the largest disasters recorded in the country in the last 30 years, according to Chile's Research Center for Integrated Disaster Risk Management.

Investigators determined that the two men agreed “in advance to carry out this type of behavior when the weather conditions were precisely adequate to ensure that a fire of this magnitude would occur,” regional prosecutor Claudia Perivancich said Saturday .

The fires would give the two men more work, one of the suspects reportedly told authorities.

Valparaiso Fire Commander Vicente Maggiolo said: “We are very dismayed by the situation.”

Maggiolo called it an isolated incident and said it should not tarnish the department's work, according to the AP.

“We have been saving lives for over 170 years.”

Christian Little, executive director of the Forestry Department, called the detention of a former official “distressing” for the agency.

Both have been taken into custody while investigators continue their investigation. Authorities said further arrests could be made.