What Article 266 of the Criminal Code punishes
Article 266 defines an aggravated form of the offence of criminal damage where the damage is caused by fire, explosion or another means of similar destructive power, but without the danger to human life or physical integrity that characterises the arson offence in Article 351. That absence of danger to life is precisely what separates this provision from offences against collective safety: here the protected interest is property, not life.
The penalty scales according to the severity of the underlying damage offence: ordinary damage under Article 263.1 committed by these qualified means; aggravated damage under Article 263.2 (for example, because of its high value or because it affects public assets); and damage to specially protected property under Articles 265 (military or security-force equipment), 323 (historical heritage) or 560 (transport or communication infrastructure). If, alongside the explosion or equivalent means, there is also danger to people's life or physical integrity, the penalty is imposed in its upper half; and if the fire does create that danger to life, this article no longer applies and Article 351 takes over instead.
Penalty
Damage under Article 263.1 committed by fire or explosion carries one to three years in prison; damage under Article 263.2 carries three to five years in prison and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months; and damage to the specially protected property of Articles 265, 323 or 560 carries four to eight years in prison.
Common scenarios
This offence is typically applied to someone who sets fire to a vehicle, an unoccupied home, a closed shop or industrial premises outside working hours, with no one present and no real risk to anyone at the time: for example, setting fire to an ex-partner's car parked in the street at night, or burning the contents of a storage unit or an empty warehouse out of revenge or to conceal another crime. It also covers damage caused with explosives or similarly powerful devices to someone else's property without endangering people.
Defense strategy
The defense should first focus on verifying whether a real danger to life or physical integrity actually existed at the time of the events, because the boundary with Article 351 —which carries much harsher penalties— turns exactly on that fact and on the specific circumstances of the place and moment of the fire. It is also worth reviewing the forensic evidence on the origin of the fire or explosion, since a significant share of fires of doubtful cause are wrongly attributed to arson when they may have resulted from an accident or an electrical fault. Finally, the actual economic valuation of the damage and whether it falls under Article 263.1 or 263.2 can substantially change the applicable sentence.