Rijnsburg fire brigade commander arrested on suspicion of arson in Katwijk village
The police arrested the fire brigade commander in Rijnsburg on suspicion of arson, Omroep West reported, based on an email sent by Katwijk mayor Nathanaël Middelkoop to all party leaders in the municipality, which covers Rijnsburg. The local security office announced on Monday that the man had been suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation.
According to the email sent by the mayor, the police arrested the commander on Friday evening and questioned him on Saturday. At the time the email was sent, the mayor did not know exactly what the commander was suspected of, but stressed that “it is only a suspicion and the investigation is still ongoing.”
The police reported an arson-related arrest in Rijnsburg on their website on Saturday, but did not reveal any details about the suspect’s identity. According to the police, locals caught a man setting fire to a shed on Kanaalstraat at around 8:00 p.m. on Friday, January 2, and called the police. The suspect had fled the scene on foot by the time the police arrived, but the investigation led to his arrest later the same evening.
Around the same time that the police were called to the scene, investigators used the platform, Burgernet, to ask anyone in the Rijnsburg area to be on the lookout for a man with a light skin complexion involved in an unspecified “suspicious situation.” He was described as being 1.8 meters in height with long black hair pulled back and a stocky build. He was wearing a dark blue, fitted jacket, dark sweatpants, and black shoes.
On Monday, Veiligheidsregio Hollands Midden, the security office covering the region’s emergency services, announced that the arrested man had been suspended, calling him a “fire brigade volunteer.”
The Veiligheidsregio said it was “deeply shocked” by news of the man’s arrest. “Arson is diametrically opposed to the organization’s core values and the fire department’s mission to protect lives and property. Every day, our people see the grief and damage that fires cause; a suspicion like this strikes at the very foundation of our work.”
The organization also stressed that the investigation is ongoing, and that the fire brigade commander is only facing suspicions, not charges, at this stage. The Veiligheidsregio is awaiting the outcome of the investigation and is currently focused on providing support and assistance to the man’s colleagues.
The village of Rijnsburg is located just west of Leiden. Roughly 17,500 people live in the village, which is part of the Zuid-Holland municipality of Katwijk.
