to watch the fires burning across the river; to view someone's trouble with indifference or delay action until others have exhausted themselves

to understand a situation thoroughly or see through it as clearly as if watching a fire

to see things as clearly as if one were looking at a fire; used to describe seeing through a situation or having extremely sharp insight

(variant form) to see something as clearly as if looking at a fire; to have a clear and thorough understanding of a situation