An overnight fire and blast at a pile of dumped waste in Tainan's Annan District burned homes and cars and sent 14 people to hospital — bad news for residents, and a likely costly case for whoever dumped the waste.

• The fire broke out after midnight on an empty lot in a residential area and took more than four hours and 144 firefighters to put out.
• Waste industrial oil and scrap aluminum piled on the site are believed to have fed the blaze and the explosion.
• Eleven homes burned, 57 households were hit by the blast, 20 vehicles were damaged, and 3 firefighters and 11 residents were hurt.
• Air quality tests came back normal, but thick smoke carried enough ammonia to sting eyes, nose and throat, so people downwind were told to shut their windows and stay inside.

Outlook: City officials plan to trace who dumped the waste and hit them with heavy fines under Taiwan's air pollution and waste disposal laws.