Serial Arsonist (73) Started Five Fires in Istria in a Single Day, Arrested
Pula police completed the investigation and suspected a 73-year-old man of five criminal offenses, finding a lighter and a fuel canister in his home.
Pula police completed the investigation and suspected a 73-year-old man of five criminal offenses, finding a lighter and a fuel canister in his home.
The Pula police have completed a criminal investigation into a 73-year-old man accused of deliberately starting as many as five fires in the Istria region in just one day. He is suspected of five criminal offenses of endangering life and property by a generally dangerous act or means, and was arrested the day after the series of fires.
According to the investigation, the series of fires began on Tuesday, August 5, 2026. Around 1:00 PM, in the Marčana area, between Male Vareški and Krnica, the suspect started a fire in an olive grove and forest. The flames consumed approximately 6,700 square meters of low vegetation, olive groves, and forest undergrowth.
Just half an hour later, another fire broke out, this time between the villages of Šegotići and Male Vareški. Wind-driven flames engulfed dry vegetation near a drystone wall along the road and spread to approximately 5,000 square meters of grass, dry brush, and forest.
The series continued along the Pavićini-Duga Uvala road, where dry vegetation was set alight twice, around 1:50 PM and 2:00 PM. In these two incidents, more than 1,000 square meters of grass and vegetation were burned. The final, and largest, fire was set around 6:00 PM in the Barban area, between the villages of Foli and Rojnići. On that occasion, approximately 25,000 square meters of dry grass and low vegetation were scorched.
Thanks to the swift intervention of firefighters and local residents, all fires were quickly brought under control, eliminating the immediate threat to human life and property.
Police officers, in cooperation with citizens, gathered operational intelligence that led them to the suspect. He was arrested on Thursday, August 6, 2026, at around 1:20 PM. During the criminal investigation, his home was also searched, where a lighter and a fuel canister were found, serving as key material evidence.
After the investigation was completed, the 73-year-old was brought to the detention unit of the Istria Police Department on Friday, August 7, 2026, in the morning hours, along with a criminal complaint.
