Pacov grammar school arson in Vysočina: 20-year-old suspect held

Police in the Vysočina Region have detained a 20-year-old man suspected of setting fire to the grammar school in Pacov. The fire broke out in the school gym shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday, 16 April, and the culprit was found more than six months later. The man faces up to eight years in prison.

The building had been under reconstruction since March, and students were taking classes in temporary premises. “During the on-site inspection, officers together with a fire and rescue service investigator established that the fire had been set deliberately. The case was taken over by forensic officers, who began thoroughly checking all the circumstances and searching for the culprit,” police spokeswoman Michaela Lebrová said on Tuesday.

First he helped put it out, then he fled

According to investigators, the accused set fire to the gym after an earlier disagreement with his boss. Using a lighter he had on him, he ignited the contents of items stacked in a cupboard. The fire damaged the gym premises as well as equipment, furniture and other items stored there because of the renovation.

About eight of his colleagues were in the building at the time. When one of them warned the others about the fire, they tried to put it out themselves. The arsonist took part in the effort too. They could not get the blaze under control, and firefighters were called. Before they arrived, the arsonist ran off and, according to police, watched events from a distance. Firefighters fully extinguished the fire in about two hours, and nobody was injured.

Police charged the man with the crime of endangering the public. Pavel Novaček, head of the criminal police in Pelhřimov, added that the accused had already been finally convicted of deliberate arson. He remains at liberty, and the investigation continues.

The school, which is run by the town, had been undergoing a major reconstruction since March at a cost of about CZK 46 million. Builders replaced the windows and insulated the building, and the contract also covered ventilation, photovoltaics, new toilets and floors. With the start of the new school year, students returned to the renovated building.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz