Fire Started While Dubuque Man Assaulted Girlfriend

Dubuque Police say a fire that seriously injured two people in October started when a man assaulted his girlfriend with a container of flammable liquid, which spilled and ignited. 32 year old Randy Grutz of Dubuque was arrested Monday on warrants charging domestic assault with injury and two counts of failure to appear in court. Grutz and 21 year old Meagan Arthofer were seriously injured in the fire on October 8th at their residence, which fire officials said caused nearly $50,000 worth of damage.  Arthofer reported that she was using acetone to remove nail polish when she and Grutz got into an argument. Grutz began assaulting Arthofer when picked up the gallon jug of acetone and struck Arthofer with the jug numerous times around her head. Flammable acetone spilled from the jug and ignited from an unknown heat source, possibly a space heater, starting the room on fire.