Woman was pregnant

29-year-old sets fire to his girlfriend’s house

15 members of the local fire department were deployed.

(Bild: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Deutschfeistritz)

Early Saturday morning in Deutschfeistritz, the incomprehensible happened: a 29-year-old man from Yemen is said to have set fire to the house where his pregnant partner, her underage daughter and a few-month-old baby were staying. But it was not the first attack against his family ...

It was around 5.30 a.m. on the national holiday when walkers on their morning "walkabout" became aware of clouds of smoke billowing from a neighboring house. 16 members of the Deutschfeistritz volunteer fire department rushed to the scene with three vehicles and were only just able to prevent a major fire. But one thing was extremely strange: there was not just one source of fire in and around the house, but several.

Put three children in danger
Initial investigations by the Frohnleiten police patrol quickly confirmed the suspicion that the fire must have been started by the 29-year-old resident from Yemen. An unbelievable act, considering that his pregnant girlfriend and her small children were at home at the time. The 35-year-old woman, her underage daughter and their few-month-old baby only escaped unharmed by a stroke of luck; the fire department rescued them from their predicament.

15 members of the local fire department were deployed.

(Bild: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Deutschfeistritz)

Minor injured with a knife
The 29-year-old was arrested immediately. At the same time, the fire investigators began their investigation - forensics revealed several fire scenes. Among other things, fires were set in a garbage can, on the garage door and in the ventilation pipe - a manhole stuffed with items of clothing was also on fire, reports incident commander Martin Zechner from the Deutschfeistritz volunteer fire department.

We initially assumed it was a dustbin fire, but then it turned out to be several sources of fire at the garage door, in the manhole, in a pile of leaves and in the ventilation pipe. The heavy smoke was particularly dangerous.

Einsatzleiter Martin Zechner, Freiwillige Feuerwehr Deutschfeistritz

The police discovered that the alleged arsonist had been living in an "on-off relationship" with his partner and had threatened to kill her several times. He is even said to have grabbed a knife and inflicted injuries on the underage daughter. In the last two weeks in particular, there had been hatefulness, coercion, bodily harm and threats - but the woman had not yet filed charges, reports police spokesman Markus Lamb.

29-year-old is in custody
The father of the family has so far remained silent about all the allegations. He has been banned from entering and approaching the house and banned from carrying weapons. The 29-year-old is now in custody in Graz-Jakomini prison by order of the Graz public prosecutor's office until further notice.