Press "Enter" to skip to content

Ehime cops arrest female resident of disabled facility after fire kills 3

Ehime police arrested a resident at a facility for the disabled after she admitted to starting a fire that killed three persons
Ehime police arrested a resident at a facility for the disabled after she admitted to starting a fire that killed three persons

EHIME (TR) – Ehime Prefectural Police have arrested a 49-year-old female resident of a facility for the disabled in the town of Matsuno City after three fellow residents perished in a fire, reports NHK (Mar. 12).

At just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, a neighbor of the facility tipped off emergency services about a fire at facility Hidamari 3. A fire crew arriving at the scene extinguished the blaze in about one and a half hours.

Three bodies, likely two men (aged 36 and 38) and a woman (67), were later discovered in the ruins of the facility. All three persons remained unaccounted for after the fire started.

Officers from the Uwajima Police Station subsequently arrested Chifumi Zenke on charges of arson inside an inhabited building after she admitted to starting a fire in her room, according to Jiji Press (Mar. 12).

Hidamari 3 accommodated eight residents and a staff member. Other facilities, including one for elderly persons on welfare, exist on the same property. However, the fire did not spread to those other facilities.