Withmore City, Central Red - Multiple fires broke out in the open air markets across the lower sector today, starting nearly simultaneously with very little warning. No groups have come forward to claim responsibility, but these may have simply begun organically. A Withmore City Services worker, speaking under condition of anonymity, said, "Honestly, I don't get paid enough to even set foot in there. I'm surprised these places haven't gone up sooner." That said, other members of WCS did engage in fire fighting, but not before the blazes claimed 56 lives, with hundreds more injured from burns and smoke inhalation.
Initial investigations suggest that the fires began as a result of overdrawn extension cords and active electronics devices. Speaking with a Tox Power representative, the Globe learned that current power draw to the markets has increased by threefold in the previous year as more and more of the destitute try to arrange market stalls and showcases to pawn off what little they have. "Given the current the markets were pulling, their power use would start a fire even if it wasn't heaped with rags on top of decades-old cabling," said the rep.
Ordinarily, fires in open locations become the targets of City Services fire suppression drones, which automatically lock on to potential hotspots and extinguish even small fires before they become harmful. However, increasingly routine spikes in demand over the past month have led to occasional service outages across Red sector, leading to fires running out of control, causing millions of chyen in property damage. WCS did not respond when contacted for comment on the drones.
