Yet while mourning the dead and offering condolences to their families, we should not ignore the fact that lessons need to be learned from the tragedy and that it is necessary to find out whether there was any negligence or deficiency in directing the firefighting efforts that contributed to the loss of so many lives.

Of course, the bravery the firefighters and local residents demonstrated in fighting the forest fire is worth our admiration. There is reason enough to regard them as heroes. However, if the authorities had taken into consideration a number of what-ifs before sending the firefighters into the forest, their lives might have been spared and their efforts to combat the blaze might have been more effective.