On Wednesday not long after I got home a whole load of fire engines came racing past the house with sirens blaring. They continued to the end of the road and then turned so I knew it wasn't that close to us. About 10 minutes later I could smell smoke and when I went up onto the balcony I could see loads of black smoke which then turned into a huge red flame. It turns out that it started in a small family-owned restaurant, spread to the electrical shop on one side and also the Okonomiyaki shop and takoyaki shop on the other side so all in all 4 houses were burnt. I'd just come out of the bath and was in pajamas but Lisa and Keita went 'to have a look' and when Setsuo came home, he also went in case it was one of his customers. It wasn't a customer but a friend of a friend's house where it started. Everyone thought it must have been a fire from the cooker but in actual fact, it started under the stairs so they think it may have been due to faulty or old wiring (the police gave them a hard time though almost accusing them of starting the fire themselves).

Luckily there was nobody hurt but now the friend and family have nothing (probably the same for the other 3 houses too) so they are going to move into one of our apartments in Hotarugaike and we are trying to get things ready for them. Luckily we have a lot of things we can give them because of the move and hopefully they can get back on their feet soon.

It's a reminder of how fires can spread so quickly. Although I can't say the same for ambulances, here the fire brigade arrive within minutes of the first call but because a lot of the houses are still old and made of wood, it doesn't take long for them to burn. A good reminder to be careful and also for us to get fire insurance for the new place!