In the afternoon, thick black smoke rose over the South Boulevard in Skopje's Kisela Voda municipality - a warehouse near Rampa was burning, and the flames could be seen from far off. Popping sounds were heard from the burning building, which at first added to the alarm among passers-by.

Crews from the City of Skopje's Territorial Fire Brigade intervened quickly to bring the fire under control. The director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, Stojanče Angelov, explained that „the popping sounds heard from the burning building were most likely from electrical energy“ - and not, as some had feared, from something more dangerous.

The fire was later brought under control, and during the intervention one firefighter was lightly injured. This is exactly where it's worth pausing: while all of us stare at the smoke and film it on our phones, into it walk the people whose job it is to put it out. An injured firefighter is not a footnote to the news - it's a person who went in where everyone else runs out.

The cause of the fire has not yet been officially confirmed. Warehouses and makeshift spaces across the city reopen the old question - how many of them even meet the basic fire-safety requirements, and whether anyone checks them before a fire breaks out, rather than after.