A pile of dumped waste caught fire and exploded in Tainan's Annan District, damaging nearby homes, and the city government is now moving to sue the responsible company on residents' behalf.

• The blaze started before dawn on an empty lot in a residential area and spread to surrounding houses.
• Eleven households hit directly by the fire are being housed at a service center, with supplies and charity help flowing in.
• Investigators traced the illegal dumping to a company whose registered site in Kaohsiung appears abandoned, so Tainan is checking the owner's assets and those of related parties.
• The city will work with the bar association to file a joint lawsuit, with paperwork letting residents assign their claims to the city expected within days.
• Mayor Huang Wei-che has agreed the city will front the money for emergency repairs, then bill the offending firm.

Outlook: Recovering the money depends on whether any assets can still be found, so residents may wait a long time even as repairs begin.