I think one thing that is lost in all this is you can have deadly smoke without any indication of a fire. Whether through asphyxiation or chemicals, it can kill just the same.

Decisions are made only with the available information on hand at the moment.

The company reaction according to the news report seems to emphasize that there were people hurt during the evacuation (a given). I wonder what alternative they were suggesting given the possible deadly fumes present on board.