Rainbow flag reason for arson at Breda apartment building, residents say

A fire broke out on the balcony of an apartment in a building on Spitsbergenstraat in Breda on Tuesday night. Residents believe it was arson set because of the rainbow flag that hangs on the balcony, Omroep Brabant reports.

The police have heard “noises that the fire is caused by a hung rainbow flag,” a spokesperson told the broadcaster. “We are still officially investigating the cause, but we are aware of this.”

According to Herman, who lives right above the apartment where the fire broke out, the rainbow flag that always hangs on his downstairs neighbor’s balcony has been stolen several times. They’ve always blamed young people and mischief. “But this is, of course, more than just mischief. I got quite a fright. I didn’t sleep a wink last night.”

He was woken by his downstairs neighbor yelling that there was a fire in her home. They started waking their neighbors until the fire department arrived and took over the evacuation.

The balcony is located on Rijpstraat. The heat of the flames caused a bedroom window to burst, and the entire apartment quickly filled with smoke. The fire department had to ventilate the building after the fire was out. The blaze also caused quite a lot of soot damage.