Dutch prosecutors drop all charges in two military wildfire cases

Dutch prosecutors will not pursue criminal charges against any of the five soldiers in connection with wildfires sparked during Defense Ministry exercises in Ede on April 3, 2025, and in Oirschot on Aug. 27, 2025.

The Public Prosecution Service opened criminal investigations after suspicions arose that service regulations had been violated during the exercises.

After completing the probes, prosecutors decided it was not appropriate to hold individual military personnel criminally liable for the fires. All cases against the five soldiers identified as suspects have been dropped.

Prosecutors emphasized that the Defense Ministry bears a responsibility to limit the risk of wildfires during training exercises as much as possible. That duty requires proper attention to protocols, safety regulations, and instructions given to participating troops. For that reason, investigators shared the full results of the Ede and Oirschot probes with Defense. In a meeting with prosecutors, Defense officials pledged to act on the lessons and improvement points identified in the investigations.

The same will happen with investigations into four more recent fires: Otterlo on April 21, ’t Harde on April 29, and fires in Weert and Oirschot on April 30. Those findings will be passed to Defense once the Royal Marechaussee completes its work.