Garage Sale on Fire

Last fall, one of my favorite places to shop for treasures was destroyed by fire.  Historical and cultural significance were not anywhere near the scale of Notre Dame, but it was just a cool "garage sale" to wander around in.

I've written about this bazaar before, so if you look back at pictures, you can see that there was plenty in there to feed the fire.

Reports of the rescue effort were just as sad as the fire itself.  One news station wrote about shop owners beating up the firefighters.  Each shop owner wanted their shop's fire extinguished first, and in their anxiety and selfishness, they couldn't see that the firefighters were doing the best they could.

With rain falling steadily, the fire department requested help from a helicopter.

But sadly, you can see how little of a difference it made.

This bazaar is a FULL CITY BLOCK of small shops connected by brick walls and tin roofs.

The fire started in the early morning hours, before opening time.  Shopkeepers who arrived early tried to drag their belongings out; however, the bazaar is made up of about 2,400 shops, with long, long walkways far away from the edge.  It was reported that about half (1,200) of those shops were destroyed.

The good news is that they are re-building.

With brick this time.

And it's almost finished.