Once they learned of the status of the airplane (reports by cabin crew, ECAM, etc…) they decide to land on a longer runway and prepare for the worst, that is, to prepare for evacuation.
Not entirely correct. They were on approach to RW 05 (The shorter runway) at first. By this time they would have been well aware of their emergency situation, at the very least single engine after a fire.
I'll wait for the report, but I am wondering why on a single engine in calm weather conditions you would not come back on the longer runway first time!? I'll be very keen to find out if there was a reason.
Looked like he got to about 500 feet before going around and repositioning for 35L (Longer Runway).