Chapter 329: The Situation is Not Optimistic

Chapter 329: Chapter 329: The Situation is Not Optimistic

Another woman quickly chimed in.

She didn’t really understand much about these things, but her daughter had looked very serious when she mentioned it, which meant the matter was definitely serious!

The lead captain’s expression changed. ’Nylon netting?’

’It seems the report the chief gave me mentioned this.’

He quickly flipped it open and took a look. Sure enough, there was a highlighted note: "Outer flame-retardant netting suspected of being substandard material. Requires special attention."

"You few, go over and see if this is true." The captain put away the file and pointed to a squad. He didn’t forget to add, "Make sure you check all eight buildings."

"Roger that!"

The designated squad acknowledged the order and ran toward the buildings.

It was like a switch had been flipped for the rest of the officers; they immediately began questioning residents passing by.

They gathered some information, but most of it concerned the same few problems.

Captain Miller from the police department walked over to the firefighters with his file. He found their captain and asked, "Captain Lynch, assuming a fire breaks out and the entire building goes up in flames, how long do you think it would take to extinguish it?"

Captain Lynch looked up at the towering high-rise before him, then surveyed the surroundings, his expression grim. "Hard to say. Our current ladder trucks have a theoretical maximum operating height of fifty-six meters, which is about the eighteenth or nineteenth floor."

"But the buildings in this complex look to be over twenty, maybe even thirty floors tall. Our equipment can’t reach that high. Putting out a fire would be very difficult!"

"On top of that, it’s windy and dry today. Once a fire starts, it could easily spread to the adjacent buildings. If the blaze gets too big, standard fire hoses and ladder trucks will be completely useless."

The more he spoke, the grimmer Captain Lynch’s expression became.

Moreover, this was all based on an ideal scenario. The reality was that the streets and the spaces between buildings here were too narrow for the fire trucks to even get in, which meant the effective ladder height he’d mentioned would be even lower.

"If a fire really does break out and isn’t extinguished immediately, it will be a complete catastrophe for this entire complex." As Captain Lynch said this, his hands unconsciously clenched into fists.

’Thank God,’ he thought, ’we got a sudden order from above today to come and investigate the situation.’

’Otherwise, if something really happened, it would be too late for regrets!’

Standing a short distance away, a few of the aunties saw the grave expressions on Captain Lynch and Captain Miller’s faces, and their hearts began to pound.

’Could something really be wrong?’

’Why else would all these officers look so serious?’

’No, I have to go ask.’

At that thought, the aunties couldn’t sit still any longer. They walked over quickly, wanting to ask what was going on. "Is something wrong? If there’s a problem, you have to tell us. Our whole families live here."

"That’s right, that’s right! You can’t hide this from us."

"If you tell us sooner, we can pack our things and get out sooner."

Several others couldn’t help but chime in with similar concerns.

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing major. We’re just discussing how to divide up our duties."

"If you’re still concerned, just keep an eye out for any notices from the property management office and follow our police instructions." The lead officer, Captain Miller, said with a placating smile, trying to smooth things over and calm the anxious crowd.

As the aunties walked away, they still felt a sense of unease.

’Forget it. I’ll just take the grandkids out for the day. I’ll bring the cash from home and all that.’

’I’ll come back tonight.’

The aunties glanced at each other and saw the same decision reflected in one another’s eyes.

They immediately quickened their pace and hurried back home.

Captain Miller and Captain Lynch didn’t waste any time either. Knowing the situation was urgent, they quickly divided their people into teams and assigned them to inspect all potential fire hazards.

Some residents who were on their way to work saw this scene, along with the group of police officers standing at the complex entrance, and started to feel uneasy.

’Could something really have happened?’

Before they could figure out what was going on, they saw several aunties coming downstairs with their grandchildren, carrying large and small bags.

"Ma’am, are you all going on a trip?"

One young woman’s eyelid twitched. She had a bad feeling and quickly called out to them.

The auntie who was asked stopped and turned back. "So many officials showed up today. Who knows if there’s some kind of safety hazard? I’m not willing to take that chance."

"It’s better to take my things and my grandson out for a while. If nothing happens, great. If something does, we’ll be out of the way in time."

After saying her piece, the auntie left without a backward glance.

The young woman thought of her elderly grandmother, and her heart began to race.

Not caring if she would be late anymore, she turned and ran back toward her apartment.

’No, I have to get Grandma out of here today. Just like that auntie said, it’s best if it’s nothing, but if it’s something, we can avoid it in time.’

Their conversation and the young woman’s subsequent actions were seen by others passing by.

Some of the more cautious residents followed their lead. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Those with elderly family members or children took them out and found a place for them to stay for the day. Those who lived alone just packed up their valuables and left.

Of course, others thought they were overreacting and that it was completely unnecessary.

"Captain, so many people are leaving. Should we stop them? What if they start spreading rumors and cause a panic? It could damage the department’s credibility," one of the junior officers asked, sounding confused.

Captain Miller smacked him on the back of the head. "We don’t have enough time as it is! We’ll most likely have to evacuate everyone at noon anyway. Them leaving early just reduces our workload!"

"Now, stop slacking and get back to your inspections."

’As for panic?’

’Compared to public opinion, the most important thing right now is to finish inspecting these hazardous spots.’

The junior officer sheepishly rubbed the back of his head where he’d been hit and hurried to catch up with his squad.

「An hour later.」

Captain Lynch walked up to Captain Miller. Staring at the construction workers being held back outside the complex, his tone was exceptionally grave. "Just now, my team got ahold of a two-meter-tall model of the building. They took a piece of the foam board and nylon netting we removed, attached it to the model, and tried to set it on fire."

"The entire model went up in flames in a matter of seconds."

The speed of it was so shocking that even the group, who had been mentally preparing for the worst, couldn’t help but gasp.

"We already suspected as much, didn’t we? How are the inspections going on your end? Find anything suspicious?" Captain Miller’s tone seemed much calmer compared to Captain Lynch’s gravity.

But if one were to look down and see his hands clenched tightly into fists, they would know he wasn’t feeling so calm at all.

"Not looking good. They did a quick sweep and found a lot of construction materials that haven’t been disposed of properly."

"A single spark could ignite the whole area immediately." Captain Lynch shook his head as he reported their findings.

"Officer, hurry up and let us in! We’re going to be late for work!"