There was a fire near my house a few days ago so I went out to it to take a few pictures of it. They are absolutely amazing, the whole row of houses would not be here without these people.

1. Portrait of a guy taking a break or something


2. More people taking a break


3. They climbed up the 2 stories to the roof where they were bashing a hole in the attic so they could stick the hose in here to kill the flames.


4. Portrait of one of them on what I think is a walkie-talkie


5. They broke off the roof tiles to let the smoke out. (I think)


6. There's the hose.


7. This should probably go before #6 but anyway, pulling up the hose.


8. Climbing to the hole in the roof.


9. One of them in the second story.


10. Picking away at the roof some more.


11. Aim and fire.


12. A few of them taking a break with sandwiches, water, and gatorade.


13. An enhanced firetruck. (not a portrait I know but I thought I'd include it anyway)

Very nice series!

I agree, great series! I really like the casual look of the firefighters taking a break. I also enjoyed looking at the action shots of the firemen up on the roof, but I would have liked to see a little more of the roof to put it in context.

I wonder if the fire truck shot (#13) would look good as an HDR? It would give it an edgy feel.

Over all, very good captures!!

Thanks, I suppose I could upload a few more to my gallery and post them here.

This has a tragic story behind it, it first started with a house to the left of this one. The house on the left had a fire (not sure what caused it) and the right side/backyard of it was burned but then the fire spread due to the wind to this house here where it consumed the living room, kitchen, dining room, pretty much the entire house, the only things that survived was the garage which is concrete.

I didn't put up the house pictures because I put this gallery here in the people section

If you haven't already done so, you should contact the fire company/ies involved and let them know that you have some photos from the fire. As a volunteer firefighter myself, I can tell you that many companies like to have nice shots to add to their history books and company collections. News photographers often get a few news-style photos and move on, but you've captured some of the other stuff that happens on the fireground that generally goes unseen. Who knows--it could lead to a few opportunities down the road.

jonathan

Oh cool thanks, I just learned something new. I will contact them soon.

Yes ... definitely notify the station of that gallery.

I shoot a lot of our Firefighters and Police Officers at Work (nothing nearly as dramatic as yours though) and when the gallery's up I send the gallery link to any individuals I know on scene and to the stations and they love it. They get to revisit the scene, discuss the incident among themselves, and share the images with friends and family. My galleries are unprotected so they even download the images to their own computer and create their own slide shows, desk tops, etc.

It's just something I do to give a little back to these people and it's fun to do.

I'm just curious as to what lens you used for this series. The images seem to have the same characteristics as mine when I use my 70-300 VR.

very nice captures!

Nice documentary. My favorite is the enhanced fire truck...and I like everything else.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the comments, I used a 70-300mm for most and a 18-55mm for the fire truck.

Nice series. I saw a snippet on the news about it too.

You might find some contact info here.

I sent them the pictures and the (or is that "a"?) captain replied with compliments and gratitude. I was looking for it in the news but I couldn't find it, care to send me a link?

Originally Posted by xelanil I sent them the pictures and the (or is that "a"?) captain replied with compliments and gratitude. I was looking for it in the news but I couldn't find it, care to send me a link?

ktvu had it on. not sure if it's on their web site.

Thanks, found it there.