House Fire

Rarely do you ever have an experience quite like this one. I heard about this fire on the office scanner, and I was on the scene within minutes. By the time I got there you could already see flames a mile from the scene. After a few minutes of photographing on scene, a man come up to me and grabbed my shoulders and said "Don't take photos, this is my house. That is my house that is burning! I'm kidding it's ok. I know it's your job. But that's my house burning! Hey I know you. You took a photo of my daughter at the fair. You know, the one of the girl sleeping on the benches. We love that photo! Everyone did! God, That is my house burning." And he just walked away. Talk about an interesting exchange. I didn't know quite what to say.

A little time later, as I'm taking photos, I look back and see two of the children from the house standing barefoot, all alone, wrapped in blankets, and just watching their house burn. Next thing you know, you start to see the little girls lip begin to quiver, and a few sniffles as she is being brave and trying not to cry. And I couldn't quite take it anymore. I open my one arm, the other full of camera equipment, and next thing you know, I have two kids attached to my side spilling tears and hugging me fiercely. I reassured them that everything was going to be ok after finding out that everyone made it out of the house safely. And so the three of us stood, arms around each other, watching the flames consume the home. Shortly after, the mother and grandmother joined us.

I stayed longer than I would at most fires. Standing there until way past midnight, talking to the family members, exchanging hugs. A few days later, I was told I receive a 'Thank You' phone message from the family, but by then, I had already left the SDN. However, I will never forget that night, or the last, and probably most memorable fire I ever photographed.