The havoc is great on the grounds of thrift store Het Tweespan in Veenoord after last night’s fire. The sight hurts owner Grietje Boer. “It’s so sad. I spend so much time on it, I’m here six days a week. So much time and energy, sometimes more than I would like.”
The fire broke out just before 4:30 a.m. last night. Police suspect arson and are calling on witnesses to come forward. Boer also assumes that the fire was lit because she saw a cyclist on camera images from the neighbors. “A little after three hours, a cyclist comes cycling from the side of the Welkoop. He cycles into the parking lot here and eleven minutes later he leaves again. And then the fire brigade is called at 3:27 pm. A fire started during that period. It was already a very big fire.”
Just before four o’clock in the morning, Boer gets the call from the fire brigade. “A huge shock, what happened and how come?”, goes through her at that moment. “It is so sad. So many people who give us a warm heart by bringing and collecting things. Soon the whole building will be destroyed and everything will be gone, all the work.”
The damage is extensive more than twelve hours after the fire. The exterior of the building is damaged on the facade, a layer of the windows is also broken. But all in all, according to Boer, it is not too bad. The trailer of the sports company that was at the thrift store has been destroyed. The same applies to the car, trailer and all kinds of things from Boer that were in the trailer and in the parking lot.
(Text continues below the video)