Flames and smoke engulfed the construction site on the South Bank of the Southface river, attracting the attention of countless people.
Long before he had even arrived, Jasper could already see how the fire brightened up half the sky as smoke burst into the air. The smell of burning materials permeated the air kilometers away from the scene.
“It’s not a small fire this time, Jasper. From what the looks of it, I’d say it’s pretty severe,” Julian spoke grimly to Jasper.
Jasper took a deep breath and replied calmly, “It’s alright. It’s not a loss if it can be fixed with money.”
The large Bentley arrived outside the construction site and was held back by the caution tape the firefighters had put up.
Jasper did not explain himself to the firefighters as he got out of the car and walked toward the site.
Jasper and Julian were currently around 700 to 800 meters away from the site, but despite the distance, Jasper could still feel the burning heat from the scene. That spoke levels about how severe this fire was and that it was rapidly spreading.
“Mister… Mr. Laine!”
Having arrived before them, Sean ran over with a pant. Sean’s meticulous suit was now in an embarrassing state with traces of soot all over. The man was drenched in sweat, and it was a sorry sight.
“How’s the situation?” Jasper walked toward the site with Sean following beside him.
While panting, Sean replied, “The fire hasn’t been put out yet, but the firefighters told me that from what they can see, the fire started in two different places. The workers’ rest and living quarters, and the warehouse for all the building materials.
“Both fires started almost at the same time, so that explains why the fire is so unrelenting. The firefighters suspect arson, but there’s no concrete evidence.”
Jasper replied grimly, “All of that can wait. The most important thing now is to contain the fire and minimize injuries and deaths.”
Sean took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I agree, that’s what I thought too—”
A firefighter who was seemingly the captain ran over to Jasper and interrupted Sean with a question, “Who are you?”
Jasper did not mind the other’s abrupt attitude and replied, “I’m the person in charge of JW Real Estates.”
The firefighter scoffed and pointed at the construction site that was still in flames. “What kind of safety measures are you using here? It’s really difficult to contain a fire like this. You’re going to have to take legal responsibility if people lose their lives or get injured by this!”
Sean’s expression changed, and he was about to chide the captain when Jasper waved at Sean to stop him.
“I understand how you feel, captain, but trust me when I say I’m more nervous about this than you. You have to believe me when I say that there’s nothing wrong with the safety measures in the construction site. We can talk about whether I should be held accountable or not later, but I only have one request right now.”
Jasper’s gaze turned solemn as he stared at the captain and continued, “Do anything you can to minimize the harm done to my workers!”
The captain was stunned when he heard Jasper. He had dealt with countless industrial fires and almost every boss was most worried about their property and materials. This was the first time he had heard such a request.
“Aren’t you worried about property loss?” the captain asked.
Jasper replied calmly, “I can continue investing if it’s just monetary loss and I can just buy more facilities if they break. But there’s nothing I can do to atone if human lives are lost here.”
The captain immediately found respect for Jasper at his words and gave Jasper an intense look before he spoke, “Don’t worry. It’s our job, so we’ll do everything we can to save the workers inside.”
Jasper took a deep breath and replied, “I only request that the firefighters take care of themselves as well, then.”
