It seems to me that the commenting community on this thread breaks down broadly into three groups:
1) A large majority of non-professionals who can't understand why the Captain didn't order an evac, don't know why the fire trucks didn't go over the grass, can't imagine why the pax didn't beat the CC out of the way and exit pronto...
2) An (assumed, since silent) number of professionals who are not saying anything at all.
3) A very small number of professionals who are saying, well, why don't we wait till we have had a chance to hear from the chap who actually made the decision, and the facts he had at his disposal when he made that decision, before we leap to any hasty conclusions...
I'm not a professional pilot, or firefighter, or AT Controller, or airport manager. But I think I know how to listen. Fun as it is to follow the thread, personally, I'm with (3) on this one. The most important thing is that, whether by luck, good judgement, or a combination of both, no one died.