Oh yeah, I agree. I just sort of prefer the "extended L", which enables you to see all four sides without crossfire problems as opposed to the "stand in a circle and shoot toward the center" approach which they found themselves in that day. Cuts down on the department's insurance premiums and saves the taxpayers money.
I hope you realize I'm at least half kidding. That incident was pretty chaotic and fast developing. Afterwards, it produced all the (by now) familiar critic's questions about why the fire department didn't go into action immediately, why gas was used, etc.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.