Volunteer Firefighter Arrested for Arson of Haystack in Hlučín, Czech Republic

A 20‑year‑old volunteer firefighter set fire to a haystack in Hlučín on the evening of 20 July. Police apprehended him quickly and charged him with property damage, estimating the loss at about 800 000 CZK and a possible sentence of up to one year in prison.

The blaze prompted the deployment of twelve fire‑units, special rescue equipment from the Czech Fire Rescue Service, and the issuance of warning SMS messages to nearby residents. Investigators, including a canine team trained to detect accelerants and specialists in chemistry and electronics, also examined earlier arson incidents in Ostrava that were linked to the same suspect. The combined evidence points to a series of deliberate fire‑setting attacks by the firefighter.