Correct. Fire is
THE single most dangerous occurence onboard an airplane, be it in flight or on the ground. Also, remember that it all started with a decompression; ie PAX masks deployed and started producing 02. Then one of the chemical 02 generators apparently fell out of its stowage and the floor carpet caught fire... which in turn was fed by the 02 produced by the chemical generators (the very reason why in a cabin fire situation not subsequent to a decompression, 02 masks would NOT be deployed). Once started, these generators will produce 02 (and heat) and cannot be stopped until they run out of chemical components. So the fire could possibly have got out of hand, or restarted. Evacuating asap seems like a sensible decision to me.
From the ATC recording, it sounds like the flight crew were initially wearing full-face 02 masks (sounds of breathing) - until passing FL100. Again, another correctly applied Memory Item (EMG DESC). But they sound relaxed enough to start their call with "good morning" on frequency transfer...
Cheers
