It turned out to be a massive fire 2 buildings away, and still burning merrily. Relief gave way to curiosity, and I joined the droves of Koreans, rubber-necking as hard as we could and getting far too close to the destruction. Adam visited the site about 1.5 hours before I, and we both marveled at how close the fire and police control let civilians get before shooing us away. We would NEVER have gotten that close in the USA.
I know it was terrible, and it's possible people were hurt or even killed, but I was mesmerized in horror and intense curiosity. How did the fire start? Where and when did it start? How could it have been prevented? What needed to be done next? Could I be of help? It made me want to join a volunteer fire brigade on the spot. *I* wanted to crawl around on the rubble, searching for clues, cleaning up, spraying hoses... But I know that I fantasize. I have at least 2 friends who actually DO fight fires, and I know they'd tell me that there is nothing glamorous about it.
...
Burnt and twisted store mannequins
All the cars that were too close to the inferno looked like this
Here's hoping with all my heart that no one was hurt, and that every single owner (of car, shop, building) has extensive fire insurance coverage.
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