At a time of heightened racism and Islamophobia, an incident in Germany's Essen has raised concerns about the threat toward Turks living in the country. A fire broke out in the house of a Turkish family and police strongly suspect it might be the result of arson. There were no causalities in the incident as the premises were empty due to renovation work. Houses where Turks reside as well as mosques attended by the community, which numbers around 3 million, are a common occurrence in Germany.

The three-story building was in flames over the weekend, to the horror of the Altuğ family, who moved to a nearby house during the repair work. Family members rushed to the scene upon seeing flames engulfing the place. After three hours, firefighters managed to put out the fire, which led to the evacuation of people living adjacent to the building.

Investigators say that the fire started simultaneously both at the first floor and the top floor, raising suspicions of arson. Security camera footage from two shops located across the street is being reviewed to find possible suspects. Ahmet Altuğ, a father of three to the family living in the building, said they were "very scared." "We were sleeping in our other house when we heard voices outside and I then saw everyone on the street rushing to the burning house. I saw flames were more on the top floor than the lower floors and police told us it might be a case of arson," he told Doğan News Agency.

Turks in Germany, who largely descend from the country's "guest workers" who arrived to aid the post-World War II development boom, often complain of the racist attacks and lack of follow-up in police investigations for such incidents. Though they are mostly non-lethal, arson attacks occasionally claim lives, like the one in Mölln in 1992. Three Turks were killed when two neo-Nazi suspects set fire to two houses in the town. One year later, five Turks were killed when neo-Nazis set fire to another house inhabited by Turks in Solingen.