A lot full of wrecked vehicles at the exit from Tetovo toward Skopje burned for almost two hours on the afternoon of September 26. Old tires, car parts and plastic were on fire, all of it right next to a Makpetrol gas station. There were also explosions from car batteries in the blaze, said Avni Ameti, head of the Tetovo fire brigade.

Tetovo's firefighters turned out with 25 people and set up a protective perimeter around the station. Makpetrol staff helped too, activating the external hydrant network, along with trained personnel from the company's liquefied petroleum gas depot in Gostivar. "We thought it would be something bigger," Ameti admitted. Lucky that it wasn't.

Then came the more important question. Thick smoke spread over Tetovo and the surrounding area, and the authorities advised residents to keep their windows shut and, if possible, stay indoors. Extra caution was urged for people with asthma and lung disease, heart patients, children, pregnant women and the elderly. The advice holds "until the pollution clears." When that will be, nobody said.

The municipal environmental inspectorate went out to the site and announced tests. Its head, Armend Salihi, promised action against those responsible "if the analyses show a breach of legal regulations." There is still no final data on the concentration of pollutants.

This fire raises questions bigger than one lot. Who allowed piles of old tires and wrecked cars to sit next to a gas station at the entrance to the city? Did anyone ever inspect that lot before it caught fire? And why do citizens always find out what was in the air, if they find out at all, only after they've already breathed it in?

The cause of the fire and the damage are yet to be determined. Meanwhile, the people of Tetovo are waiting for numbers. So far, all they've got is advice to close their windows.