Ministry spokesman Jacek Dobrzyński said the Ministry of the Interior and Administration and the Ministry of Justice have been told to amend the Code of Petty Offences and related procedural rules.
Current criminal-code provisions for large-scale arson are considered adequate and will remain unchanged.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the move after visiting firefighters near Grzędy, Podlaskie province, where peat bogs and meadows have been burning in the Biebrza National Park since Sunday.
“We will introduce tougher rules for all cases that bear the hallmarks of deliberate arson or unforgivable recklessness,” Tusk said, arguing that harsher penalties would reinforce public discipline.
Investigators, overseen by the district prosecutor in the town of Augustów, are gathering evidence before formally opening a case.
Possible charges include causing a fire that "threatens life, health or property on a large scale," as well as "destruction of protected flora and fauna," officials said.
More than 300 firefighters, soldiers and park staff remain on scene, trying to extinguish underground peat fires that continue to smolder despite aerial water drops and a kilometer-long hose line.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP, IAR