Basically everyone was just waiting for the fire to burn itself out. The neighborhood was one of wooden shacks, built close together and highly flammable. The story? Someone put their dinner on and then ran out to the market, forgetting all about it. The result? Beyond homelessness, most people lost everything they had. The lesson? There's more to development than new roads and tall buildings. Basic community services are a necessity for true progress.
There's no such thing as a 5 alarm fire. The big trucks weren't rolling out. There wasn't an ambulance on scene. There were no police and no social service agencies to help residents pick up the pieces of their now shattered lives. My house burned (partially) down and all of these services were there, waiting for me when I rounded the corner and was surprised by the event. One house. This was an entire neighborhood.
Some people had gone off to work early in the morning and came home to discover the news in the nighttime, long after the lone firetruck had packed up and gone away. They found only their neighbors sorting through rubble, hoping to salvage any bits and pieces that remained.
