The Bohumín arson attack took place on 8 August 2020 at an apartment building on Nerudova Street in the town of Bohumín, roughly 300 km north-east of Prague, Czech Republic. Police arrested 54-year-old arsonist Zdeněk Konopka in front of the building. The perpetrator, who had four prior criminal convictions, admitted to pouring 8 liters of gasoline into plastic bottles at a nearby petrol station and going to his son's flat. It was bustling with people who were celebrating a birthday party to which the perpetrator was not invited. He poured the gasoline in the hallway within the flat and then onto the entrance doors and set it ablaze. This led to the extremely fast spread of the fire throughout the flat with no escape route possible.
The fire on the 11th story of the 13-story building killed a total of six people. Four people managed to save themselves by climbing through balconies to a nearby flat. Five more people, all of them already on fire, jumped to their deaths out of a window from a room without a balcony. Casualties included three children. The perpetrator's son, grandson, soon-to-be daughter-in-law and estranged wife all died. The perpetrator suffered burn wounds on his hands and legs.
The attack is the deadliest mass murder in post-WW2 Czech history.
Fire
Authorities received multiple phone calls about the fire at 17:46 and 47. At 17:49, the fire department dispatched units from Bohumín (one fire engine + one ladder truck), Karviná (two fire engines) and Orlová (one fire engine + one ladder truck). Furthermore, the dispatcher called volunteer units from Bohumín-Šunychl (one fire engine) and Starý Bohumín (one fire engine) and a special high rise ladder truck from Ostrava.
The building was first reached by units from Bohumín and Starý Bohumín at 17:54 who immediately raced to the 11th floor to start rescue operations. Trucks from nearby Orlová reached the building at 18:01, volunteer units from Bohumín-Šunychl at 18:04 and units from 16 km-distant Karviná at 18:06. 28 firemen took part in the initial rescue operation, with more arriving afterwards for a total of 46 fire personnel with nine fire engines and three ladder trucks.
When firemen reached the building, the flat was already completely ablaze. Five people jumped out of a window to their deaths while a landing mattress was being prepared. The fire was under control at 18:30 and completely extinguished at 19:43.
Victims
Six people were killed in the fire and five more from falling for a total of eleven fatalities. Nine people were rescued from other flats. Fifteen people needed medical attention, ten of them requiring transfer to a hospital. Among the injured were two firemen. A volunteer firefighter inhaled smoke and a professional firefighter suffered serious burns to the neck.
Media identified the following victims: Lukáš Konopka (30), perpetrator's son Dominik (9), perpetrator's grandson Lenka V. (30), perpetrator's soon-to-be daughter-in-law who was celebrating 30th birthday Silvia (53), perpetrator's estranged wife and Lukáš Konopka's mother Jana (73), perpetrator's mother-in-law Nikola G. (17, 8 months pregnant), Lenka V.'s sister, who fell out of the window after lengthy effort to hold onto its ledge Melinka (11) (four dead unidentified by media)
Wounded victims who managed to climb through balconies to neighbour's flat: Rostislav, who was in bathroom during initial blaze, suffered serious burns Žaneta, mother of victims Lenka and Nikola, who was with Rostislav in bathroom during initial blaze, suffered serious burns Jakub A., partner of victim Nikola Pavel
Perpetrator
Police arrested 54-year-old Zdeněk Konopka in front of the building and two days later charged him with multiple murder and public endangerment.
According to the remand request filed by State Attorney Michal Król, the perpetrator had planned the attack in advance. He consumed alcohol in order to strengthen his resolve, filled two plastic bottles with gasoline at a nearby petrol station, and went to the flat with full knowledge of the birthday party that was taking place inside. The perpetrator stood in front of the entrance doors with open bottles of gasoline in each hand and rang the doorbell. A female, whose name was withheld in the publicly released remand request, opened the doors. Thereafter, the perpetrator threw one of the open bottles at the female victim, who reacted by slamming the doors shut. The perpetrator then poured the remaining gasoline onto the doors, with some of it pouring under the doors into the flat, and set it on fire. The perpetrator suffered burn wounds on his hands and legs. He went outside where he was confronted by the police and immediately arrested.