Beirut blaze extinguished but flames of anger, distrust smoulder

Beirut blaze extinguished but flames of anger, distrust smoulder

BEIRUT-- Lebanese firefighters on Friday put out a blaze at Beirut port that brought back the trauma of last month's deadly dockside explosion and destroyed badly needed food aid.

Fire crews used cranes to hose down the last smouldering embers of the fire that swept through already damaged warehouses on Thursday.

But popular anger at the authorities' failure to provide public safety, even in the heart of the capital, was rekindled by the new blaze.

The fire broke out on Thursday afternoon as workers were carrying out repair work on some of the warehouses still standing after last month's explosion.

Sparks from a power saw being used in the repairs were the likely cause of the blaze, according to the government's preliminary findings.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said one of the warehouses