Guests celebrated and taunted the owner as he watched his house burn. A fire in the Poreč settlement of Cancini completely destroyed an apartment, with damages exceeding €400,000. Police are investigating a 44-year-old German national.
Unusual and harrowing scenes were recorded this week in Istria, where an apartment was completely destroyed in a fire, and its owner lived through a nightmare. Not only did he lose his property, but the guests, whose negligence is suspected to have caused the disaster, taunted him, celebrated, and flipped him off as firefighters battled the blaze.
The fire broke out on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, in an apartment in the Cancini settlement. According to the Istrian police, no one was injured in the incident, but the material damage is enormous. A criminal investigation was conducted by police officers against a 44-year-old German national, who is suspected of the criminal offense of endangering life and property by a generally dangerous act or means.
The homeowner, who wished to remain anonymous, filmed the interior of the destroyed apartment for RTL. The footage shows a completely devastated interior: the living room, kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, and bathroom are all burned out. He describes the scenes as catastrophic. The approximately 100-square-meter apartment was furnished with a high level of luxury, including custom-made furniture.
While he and his neighbors fought the fire and called for help, the guests, according to his claims, put on a completely different show. "They were celebrating, singing, dancing, getting in our faces, trying to start a fight, and flipping us off while we were calling the fire department and emergency services," the owner told RTL. He added that the Poreč firefighters arrived quickly and prevented an even greater tragedy, noting that after extinguishing the fire, temperatures of over 600 degrees were measured on the walls.
Problems with the guests began almost immediately upon their arrival. They checked into the apartment on August 2, and by the next day, they had started violating the house rules. The owner claims they brought nine unregistered people into the accommodation, bringing the total number of people in the apartment to 13. After he warned them that this was not allowed, one of the guests told him they would do whatever they wanted in the apartment because they had booked it.
Later that day, when the owner and his wife returned home, they heard loud music and a party, and soon after, they saw thick smoke and heard shouts that something was on fire. "The apartment didn't burn on its own; the whole house burned," the owner said.
The owner estimates that the total damage, including the value of the property, exceeds €400,000. Due to the fire, three other families staying in the same house had to be evacuated. "We are morally broken," the owner told Net.hr.
The investigation conducted by police determined that the fire started in the kitchen, where heat from the electric stove top transferred to aluminum material and then to other flammable items in the room. The flames quickly spread to a large part of the apartment. According to unofficial information, a pan with potatoes was left on the hot stove, causing the fire. The police will file a special report against the 44-year-old German national with the competent state attorney's office.
In addition to the material damage, the owner also expressed great disappointment with the reaction of the booking platform, claiming they took no concrete measures after the case was reported.
