Drunk man sets husband’s house on fire, calls police

A 40-year-old Latvian man allegedly set fire to his husband’s house in Altenmarkt, Lower Austria, after an argument and then reported the incident himself, ORF reported. No one was injured, and police arrested the man.

The man called the police emergency number at 3:40 a.m. on Saturday and said he had set fire to the house in Altenmarkt, a cadastral municipality of Gaubitsch in the Mistelbach district. The regional control centre then alerted firefighters.

When emergency crews arrived, the roof was already fully ablaze. Firefighters had extinguished the blaze by 6 a.m. No one was inside the house.

Police stopped and arrested the suspect on a dirt track between Altenmarkt and Ungersdorf during a search. Police said he appeared to have been heavily intoxicated at the time.

During questioning, the 40-year-old said he had used a lighter to ignite flammable objects. He cited an argument with his husband as the reason for the act.

On the order of the public prosecutor’s office, he was taken to Korneuburg prison. The fire completely destroyed the house. The exact damage has not yet been determined, but it is expected to be in the low six-figure range.