Chapter 328: Investigating Hidden Dangers at the Scene

Chapter 328: Chapter 328: Investigating Hidden Dangers at the Scene

The chief arrived at the police station fifteen minutes later.

As soon as he got out of the car, he hurried to the office. Seeing everyone gathered together eating breakfast, their faces etched with fatigue, he relaxed slightly.

Making arrests and discovering a fire all in one night... it had been a bit too eventful.

"Sawyer, you guys come with me to my office. Give me a detailed rundown of the situation." The chief waved at them, gesturing for Zoe Sawyer and the others to follow him.

The others who had just woken up didn’t understand what was happening, but they could guess from the chief’s stern expression that it was serious.

"Once you’re done eating, go interrogate the three we arrested last night. See if you can pry anything out of them." Before leaving, Evan Keller stopped and turned to the team members behind him, giving them instructions.

"Got it, got it. We’ll head over in a bit." One of them nodded in acknowledgment.

The group followed the chief to his office.

The moment they sat down, the chief began impatiently, "Sawyer, tell me everything from the beginning."

This fire involved the special administrative region, so it was beyond their jurisdiction. It had to be reported up the chain of command for higher-ups to assign people to handle it.

Zoe Sawyer didn’t waste any time. She told the chief everything she had seen.

After confirming nothing had been left out, the chief immediately reported the matter.

Less than ten minutes later, the chief’s phone rang.

On the other end of the line was an authoritative male voice. "Can you confirm this? Is there anything else to add?"

"Yes. Sawyer was up all night because of this, and she nearly fainted several times. She’s already told us everything she saw." The chief’s voice was equally serious, and as he answered, he made sure to emphasize Zoe Sawyer’s contribution.

The man on the other end was silent for a few seconds before finally saying, "I understand. I’ll contact the SAR now.

Stay in contact. We might need your assistance."

"Of course," the chief replied before the other person hung up.

After hanging up, the chief sent over the relevant files that Evan Keller and the others had already prepared.

Then, the chief looked at Zoe Sawyer and said, "Sawyer, things might be tough for you for a while. Until this is resolved, you need to be on standby. If you discover anything new, report it to us immediately."

Zoe Sawyer nodded, showing she understood.

’I won’t be able to sleep until this is completely resolved anyway.’

Meanwhile, the man who had just hung up with the chief couldn’t help but rub the bridge of his nose. The white hair at his temples indicated he was no longer young.

After reading the files from the chief from start to finish, the man’s heart sank. He quickly picked up his landline and dialed the number for the head of the SAR.

"Assistant Wright, what’s the matter?" The director checked the time on his phone. It was just past seven in the morning.

’Calling this early... has something happened?’

The man known as Assistant Wright said, "A massive fire is going to break out in Eldoria on your side a little after two this afternoon. I need you to organize a team to investigate the situation there immediately.

The goal is to nip this in the bud."

The SAR director frowned. Just as he was about to ask where the information came from, he heard Assistant Wright speak again. "The source is reliable. Time is short, so don’t ask how we know for now.

Just take your people and inspect the site first. If necessary, evacuate the residents."

"Yes, I understand. I’ll arrange for a team to go down there right away." The SAR director seemed to realize something and didn’t press for the source of the information.

After hanging up, he immediately assigned tasks to the police stations and fire departments under his command, ordering them to take people to the scene and conduct a thorough inspection of the area.

He thought about the building’s condition: forty-two years old, exceptionally tall, and the construction materials used for the entire structure.

The director still felt it wasn’t safe enough. He decided that if they couldn’t eliminate the risks by noon, he would assign a portion of his personnel to evacuate the residents.

’If the disaster is unavoidable, we must prevent any casualties.’

The police station received the call and, though somewhat bewildered, still organized half of its force and rushed toward Eldoria.

When they arrived, they found a sizable crowd of personnel gathered at the entrance to the complex.

Many residents, out for the morning, saw the police officers and firefighters standing outside and approached them with puzzled expressions.

"Young man, what’s going on? Is there a problem at our complex?" An older woman, who had been out for her morning grocery shopping, walked up to a police officer and asked curiously.

The officer, who was also a bit confused about the operation, answered her question honestly. "We received orders to come inspect the complex for potential fire hazards.

Ma’am, have you noticed anything unusual around here?"

At this, the woman perked up. She grabbed the officer’s sleeve and said, "I have! The fire alarm system in our building was shut off by those renovation guys!

Someone complained to the fire department before. When they sent someone over, those bastards said they’d fix it and wouldn’t turn it off again. But just a few days after the inspector left, they shut it off again.

It happened a few more times after that. Then those guys got smart. They started posting a lookout, and they’d turn the system back on whenever a fire inspector showed up."

After going back and forth like this a few times, the residents got tired of it and started holding onto a sliver of wishful thinking.

’It’s been so long without any accidents, it’s probably fine,’ they thought, so they stopped paying attention to it.

If it weren’t for this group showing up to inspect things today, the woman wouldn’t have even bothered to say anything.

This was a crucial piece of information!

A firefighter who overheard the conversation immediately reported it to his captain.

The fire captain, who had been to this complex several times, had some recollection of the issue. Because the complex was undergoing large-scale renovations, the construction workers often used the fire escape routes to get in and out. To make things more convenient and to avoid constantly triggering the alarm, they had shut off the fire alarm system.

He immediately arranged for someone to go to the management office to check if the system had been turned off again.

This initial breakthrough boosted everyone’s morale, giving them more confidence for the operation ahead.

"Ma’am, is there anything else?" After receiving an appreciative glance from his captain, the officer who had uncovered the lead continued to ask.

Before the first woman could answer, another woman who had been listening nearby chimed in. "Yes! They sealed our windows with those white boards. Said it was to protect the glass.

But with the glass all covered up, we have to keep the lights on during the day, and we can’t see if any accidents are happening outside."

"And I heard from my daughter that the netting they’re using isn’t the legally required flame-retardant kind. I think it’s nylon mesh!"