Suspect arrested in fatal Diemen apartment fire

A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of setting a fire in an apartment building on Rode Kruislaan in Diemen last week. One person was killed and four others were injured in the fire.

The man was arrested on Thursday, the day after the fire, RTL Nieuws reports. On Tuesday afternoon a magistrate remanded him into custody for 14 days. He is in restricted custody, which means he is only allowed contact with his lawyer. Due to these restrictions, the police did not announce the arrest when it was made.

In addition to the arson investigation, a separate investigation is ongoing into he fire department's actions during the fire. The victim who died and one of the seriously injured persons were found by the police only after the fire department had the fire under control. This seems to indicate that the fire department did not properly check all the apartments when the building was being evacuated.

The residents of the apartment building, which houses mostly students, were only allowed to return home on Saturday. Repairs are still being done in the building.