In the afternoon of July and, a fire broke out from an apartment on the 2nd floor of a building located only 30 meters from my house in Tokyo. The fire was brought under control within thirty minutes. No casualty for people.

The area where we live has never had fire from the pre-war days. The Metropolitan Fire Department sent more than ten units of fire engines. A vehicle with a big ladder was among them. Immediately after their arrival, they started to spray water on the fire. And at the same time the specially trained rescue men wearing anti-heat coats and helmets with small oxygen tanks on the back searched the apartment to find out whether people who failed to escape was there even though the fire was not under control.

The vehicle which brought rescue men had an English sign on the side written as "International Rescue Service." Sometimes they might be sent to overseas rescue works. There were no panic nor chaos at all among the neighbors. They were watching the professional actions of well-trained fire-fighters with modern equipments. I was impressed by their activation.

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