Costa Blanca News: Calpe arson could have ended in disaster

CALPE resident Juan Riaño was dumbfounded on learning at 1.20am that someone had set fire to his motorcycle.

He was woken by Policia Local officers who explained that his powerful motorbike, which he leaves in a car park in Avenida de la Diputacion, was totally burnt-out.

Firemen soon controlled the flames but another motorcycle belonging to a friend was also harmed in the fire which was on the point of spreading to other vehicles in the locked car park.

“The police told me that there could easily have been a chain reaction,” Juan later told the local Spanish media. Worse still, it would have been catastrophic had the fire reached the 400,000 litres of fuel stored at two nearby petrol stations. Juan has now lodged a formal complaint with the Guardia Civil, as a subsequent investigation revealed that the fire was started deliberately. Juan attributed the fire to revenge.

“Whoever did it crossed the car park, looking for my bike,” he pointed out.
“This was no prank. Someone wanted to frighten me without stopping to think about the consequences.” Juan also lamented that the person who set fire to his motorbike had not been capable of talking face-to-face with him to clear up a possible misunderstanding.