Stressed out, he set a fire in the blind spot of a security camera”… Photo of the “freshly charred scene” where an employee set fire to the restaurant and burned it down.

The defendant’s motive was “I was so stressed out because I couldn’t talk to the manager who had replaced me due to a transfer that I chose a blind spot on the security camera and set the store on fire.”

In his opening statement, the prosecutor explained the defendant’s motive for committing the crime.

On March 28, the Saitama District Court heard the first trial of A, a 32-year-old unemployed man accused of arson of a building. In June of last year, he allegedly set fire to merchandise on display, causing a fire at the store.

The store was completely destroyed by fire. The building is a one-story reinforced concrete structure with an area of about 1602 square meters (about the size of an elementary school site). The fire spread to a nearby residence. The store is a membership shop. At the time of the fire, the restaurant was open for business and there were more than a dozen employees and several customers in the restaurant. Fortunately, no one was killed and a 42-year-old female staff member sustained only minor injuries from smoke inhalation.

However, one mistake could have resulted in a catastrophe. There could have been numerous casualties. The defense claims that A had a mild mental disability. A reporter for a national newspaper in charge of justice.

In an article distributed on June 19 last year, “FRIDAY Digital” published graphic photos of the scene immediately after the fire. We would like to recount the details of the incident (some corrections have been made).

Eerily sooty and peeling walls: ……

The entire building is eerily sooty, and some of the walls are peeling. The interior is charred black and most of the merchandise is ruined. Smoke was rising from the flammable goods.

The fire occurred at the “Ken Depot Soka Sezaki Store,” a building materials store in Soka City, Saitama Prefecture, a little after 5 p.m. on June 13, 2011. The fire was contained about 13 hours later, at 6 p.m. on June 14, but when this magazine’s photographer visited the scene the next day, he found the store in its raw state.

The cause of the fire was arson. The fire was started by A, a part-time employee working at the store. On the day of the incident, he was working at the store until 5:00 p.m. just before the fire broke out. A had started working at the building materials store about a year before the incident. He had a quiet personality and was not the type to make much of an impression. On the day of the incident, he was working from noon, taking out products and making rounds.

He knew the store well and must have decided in advance where to set the fire. When questioned by the police, he said, “I set the fire in the work shoes section, which is not captured by the security cameras. He was under a lot of stress. Based on the testimonies of employees and customers, A, who left the store in an unusual state, emerged in the line of investigation.

On the day of the fire, there was a strong wind with a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 8.9 mph. One wrong move could have resulted in a catastrophe involving the surrounding residential area.

Stores like Home Depot are large and contain many flammable items such as plastic products and wood. They also have large quantities of paint, paint thinner, and other items classified as hazardous under the Fire Service Law. Once a fire starts, there is a danger of the fire spreading explosively. The situation is similar to gasoline burning.

If you as a guest take measures, you should check the location of emergency exits and make sure of evacuation routes. Smoke contains toxic gases. If a fire breaks out, you should cover your mouth with a handkerchief or something to prevent smoke inhalation.

A former employee who burned down his workplace to relieve stress. It seems that he was an impulsive criminal and could not imagine the terrible consequences of his actions.