Piet and Jeanne van Gerwe from Gemert had only slept in their new caravan twice. But on Wednesday night it burned all the way to the ground. The police assume arson. “It is very bad that someone does something like that with your things,” says Jeanne.
In front of the house on Kapelaanstraat, the morning after the fire, the burnt -out carcass of what was still a caravan was on Wednesday evening. There is nothing left of it.
“The fire is clearly lit,” says Piet. On cameras in the street you can see how someone cycles past on Wednesday evening and throw something to the caravan. This is followed by a bang and a flash of light and the ‘rut hut’ is in light flaring in no time.
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“Our son heard the bang and immediately woke us up,” says Piet. “The neighbor was also immediately awake. He called the fire brigade. With the garden hose, the son kept the house wet to prevent the flames from spreading. When the fire brigade came, the fire was quickly extinguished.
But the damage is great. The caravan of the neighbors is also damaged by the fire. The couple don’t know why someone sets their caravan on fire. “It is very bad that someone does something like that with your things. We have no enemies,” says Jeanne. She says that several cars were set on fire in Gemert last year.
“We would leave for a few days with the nice weather.”
They didn’t have the house on wheels that long. “No, we only slept in it twice,” says Piet. “With the nice weather we would leave for a few days. And next summer we were planning to travel with the caravan to the South of France.”
“Fortunately it is only material damage. But find a new caravan that completely meets our wishes,” sighs Piet. “My wife searched for it for a long time. We just had one mover And put on a new canopy. And our son had built in a few sockets. I think we will never get the money we put into it. “
The police confirm on Thursday morning that there are indications for arson. A bottle with presumably liquid fuel was found close to the caravan. “No suspects have been arrested yet. We can use tips or camera images where something special can be seen,” says a police spokesperson.
The police are also investigating whether there are interfaces with fires in the past. In Gemert there were two car fires and a caravan fire last year and this year and a number of times garbage has been set on fire. At first glance, the police see no connection with the fire at Piet and Jeanne.
