Fire Destroys Their Home in Ivanovec
The 18-year-old partner of their daughter is suspected of setting the fire that destroyed their still-mortgaged home in minutes, with damages estimated at around 70,000 euros.
The 18-year-old partner of their daughter is suspected of setting the fire that destroyed their still-mortgaged home in minutes, with damages estimated at around 70,000 euros.
In an arson fire that engulfed the family home in Ivanovec on Friday, August 14, the Amić family was left without a roof over their heads. The flames consumed years of hard work and investment in just minutes, and the suspect is the 18-year-old partner of their daughter Sabina, who had previously lived with them.
Željka and Dalibor Amić, the homeowners, were found today cleaning the ashes alongside their grandchildren Anđela and Patricija. About ten years ago, they moved from Pribislavec to Ivanovec seeking a quieter life, took out a loan, and acquired their home. Dalibor works in the metal industry, while Željka is a homemaker with serious health issues, including heart and kidney problems.
"We took out a loan when we bought the house and we're still paying it off. We recently completely renovated the ground floor, installed new windows, tiles, furniture... What do we have now? What are we paying the loan for... for ashes..." said Željka Amić with a trembling voice. Beneath a layer of soot, fresh tiles and new window frames are visible, while partially charred panels of new wardrobes are stacked outside.
The family has three children. Their son lives with his family in Pribislavec, while their two daughters, Sabina and Fernanda, lived with their parents in Ivanovec. Each daughter has one child, and Sabina is expecting another. It was Sabina's partner, with whom she is expecting a baby, who was the source of the greatest anxiety in their lives.
"Sabina didn't want to go to his parents' place. We had enough space here, so we gave them a part of the house to fix up for themselves," explained Željka, convinced that this was the reason for the arson. The young man had tried to persuade Sabina to move in with him and his parents in Piškorovec.
According to the police report from Međimurje, the investigation showed that the 18-year-old, after seriously threatening to set the house on fire, came to the family home in Ivanovec, where he forcibly opened the back door and entered. The fire was set in multiple places, and the homeowner, aged 51, estimated the damage at around 70,000 euros. A criminal complaint was filed against the suspect with the competent state attorney's office, and he was handed over to the detention supervisor.
"He hadn't shown the slightest sign of violence, not a single bad word or thought until that day. In the morning, he said he was going to the doctor in Mala Subotica, and when he came back, he was extremely angry, shouting that he would kill my child, that he would burn the house down. He packed his things and said he couldn't live with us," Željka recalled the fateful day.
That evening, everyone went to their son's place in Pribislavec, and they hadn't even spent half an hour there when neighbors and friends started calling to say their house was on fire. "At first, we thought they were joking; we couldn't believe it," Željka described. They rushed to Ivanovec and were met with a shocking sight: the house was burning, everything they had invested in over the years was going up in flames.
Dalibor and their son, in shock and disbelief, noticed that the garage with lime and cement, attached to the neighbor's buildings, was also on fire. Had the fire in the garage spread further, it could have engulfed the neighboring house. They managed to put out the garage fire themselves. Soon after, police and firefighters from the Ivanovec Volunteer Fire Department, the Gornji Vidovec Volunteer Fire Department, and the Čakovec Professional Fire Brigade arrived.
"My first thought was to throw myself into that fire and burn with it. Out of horror, out of helplessness... We worked for so many years just for someone to take it all away in minutes!" Željka cried. She added that the suspect told her he wasn't afraid of the law, the police, or the court, that he would be acquitted and would come back to finish the job.
"He told me he wasn't afraid of the law, the police, or the court. That he would be acquitted and would come back to finish the job. That I was next. I haven't slept since Friday; I fear for my life. Why would anyone do this? We took him in, he lived with us, we fed him, he didn't work... and this is how we were repaid. He himself said not to expect any compensation from him. We don't have insurance, and the loan payments will keep coming because we're still paying off the house," Željka recounted.
Željka is grateful to the neighbors who come to help and clean, bringing food and clothes for the children. She is also thankful to the firefighters and police who helped them immediately. "Everyone has been so supportive. When a person is in trouble, there's no Roma-Croat divide; we're all human," concluded Željka, who is of Roma origin but considers herself Croatian.
The Amić family hopes to receive the requested help but is aware that the rebuilding will take time. For now, they are all staying with their son in Pribislavec, and in the winter, there will be eleven of them in the small house, as two more grandchildren are on the way. Elvis Kralj, the deputy county prefect from the Roma national minority, has called a working meeting to organize help for the family, and details of the humanitarian campaign will be announced after that meeting.
