The fire that started this afternoon at a business park right next to the Bloemenveiling on the Randweg in De Kwakel was probably set alight. Police say they have arrested a suspect.
“It started with a few bales of hay, but due to the drought it is progressing very quickly. That is why we have scaled up to medium fire,” a spokesperson for the fire brigade previously told NH Nieuws.
The fire started around 2 p.m. and by 5 p.m. the fire brigade was still extinguishing. The hay bales had to be pulled apart with an excavator, so that they could be extinguished properly. Due to the long extinguishing, the fire service was unable to say anything about the cause of the fire for a long time.
Text continues below image
Fires in hay bales occur more often in dry periods like this, because the hay can start to heat up. This means that the hay will self-ignite. In this case, the police have indeed found indications of arson, but cannot share information for the time being. A spokesperson hopes to be able to provide more clarity tomorrow.