Southeast Drenthe has been shocked again and again by car fires this month. In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday it was hit in three places. “Disbelief gives way to frustration.”
At the Veenoord carpooling station, along the A37, a recovery worker from the Koolen recovery company is just towing a burnt-out car onto his yellow truck. “The police were done with the investigation, now I can,” he says. “There are still a few at other carpool places, so we will probably receive another call soon.”
Cars were set on fire in Veenoord, Erm and Erica during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. And that was not the first time this month. Cars were already burning out at various carpool places around Emmen. The police are investigating, but nothing is yet known about a perpetrator or perpetrators.
‘Nobody sees it’
“Look where you are,” says the recovery worker. “This is quite outside the village. If you leave your car here overnight, you can be sure that it will be your turn. No one will see if you break a window here or try to start a fire.”
Cars are now burning down not only in carpool areas, but also close to homes. This is how it happened last night along the quiet Verlengde Vaart Zuidzijde in Erica. There, a window of Elsbeth van Beilen’s car was smashed and an attempt was made to set the seats on fire.
“With something as simple as a lighter, as the police investigation showed. Very bizarre,” says Van Beilen. “It seems very random and done by someone who purely enjoys fire.”
The neighbor’s car was completely lost
The fact that Van Beilen’s car did not burn down is probably because the perpetrator or perpetrators were disturbed. After Van Beilen’s neighbor’s car was set on fire, the flames were noticed by a resident on the other side of the Canal.
“My son had to go to the toilet just after 5 a.m. and saw our car on fire,” says Van Beilen’s neighbor, who does not want his name in the newspaper. “At the same time, I received a call from a friend of mine who was driving by because he had to work early. I immediately went outside, but when I arrived at my car there was no way to save it.”
The police and fire brigade quickly arrived on the scene, but they too could do little. The perpetrator or perpetrators were also not seen by anyone. “I watched in disbelief, but that emotion has now been replaced by frustration and anger. Fortunately, I am insured, but you only get the current value and I was not yet planning to buy a new car. Moreover, the idea that there are people walking around doing this kind of thing really bothers me.”
Relieved
Van Beilen and her neighbor are both having a new house built on their plot. “That’s why I was especially relieved that it was our car and not our new house that was on fire,” says Van Beilen. “I’m disappointed, because you work hard and then these kinds of expenses are a waste, but in the end it’s just a car. There are worse things.”