I was invited out on this past week to photograph a local volunteer fire department’s training exercise - definitely a first for me! The home being used for training belonged to the grandmother-in-law of one of the firemen. She had been very active in giving to the local volunteer department and requested that her daughter and granddaughter do the same after she passed. Well, I’d say they were giving alright. They were letting the firemen do training burns in her condemd home. I was asked to photograph all of this so that the family would have something of the grandmother’s to hold on to (I believe the home was built in the 30’s?) It was a fascinating night - albeit very HOT!! At one point, the fire chief pulled me closer to the house and told me to watch the devils dance - it was beautiful to see. The next thing I knew, he had me INSIDE that house! My heart was racing - I’m not sure my pulse has ever been that high before. I was worried that my camera would melt into my hands. That’s the first picture that you see… The Dancing Devils are on the left and the shot of the fireman was from inside the burning home. I only had a split second to shoot due to the intense heat. I had no more gotten in and squatted before they pulled me back out. My eyes and lungs hurt the rest of the night!!

I think this was my favorite shot of the entire evening. The Chief had just stepped out of the house and was walking across the lawn. The smoke was so thick that it created a perfect silhouette against the flood lights.

I knew that photography would be tricky that night but I wasn’t prepared for how much my camera would struggle to focus. I finally had to operate in manual focus - which isn’t so bad, until you know that I had to take my contact lenses out. It was like the blind leading the blind!

This little guy was there with his dad. It gave me warm-fuzzies to watch them interact. You could tell how much he loves his Daddy and how proud he is that his dad is a FIREMAN! Once the training was completed, he was able to use the hose! It was quiet a site!! Check out his concentration!!

In my dreams, I’m a world-famous photojournalist traveling all over viewing the world through my lens… both the beautiful and the tragic. Sadly, that is just a dream. In reality I’m a stay-at-home-mom with two young, demanding kids. Well, last night, for just a moment, I got to step into my dreams. I was headed to Mike’s office to meet him for pizza (he was working on a project late last night!) and just before his office, I noticed a massive fireball and instantly knew what was there, Apartment. I got excited because I actually had my camera with me!! I pulled into the the Walgreens across the street only to realize that I *thought* I had my camera with me. I had intended to bring it, but just didn’t get out the door with everything I wanted to Mike’s office may only be 8 miles from the house. but it feels like an eternity with a billion stop lights between you and your beloved camera! I raced home and raced back but most of the fire was controlled by then. Kudos to the firefighters! I did manage to get a few shots and at one point, the front unit lit up again. My heart is heave for the 20 families that lost everything they own. No one was hurt last night, but several family pets were lost. It was torn down last night due to safely reasons, but I still wanted to drive by and see it again in daylight. I’ve watched many news reports about apartment fires, but have never been as close as last night - it effects you differently when you saw it, when you smelt it. My thoughts and prayers are with those families and I hope that yours will be too after you see these images.

-Sarah-

The Day After….

I had some errands to run today and wanted to go back, even though the news reported that it would be torn down last night. I felt a tug on my heart to go before the store and I’m so glad that I did. I met a woman named Kay who was there taking pictures for her son and daughter-in-law. They are newly weds and lost everything. I met Kay once before during the Endeavour Shuttle Fly-by last month. She is an account exec for the Houston Chronicle (yah, I am crossing my fingers that someday she is able to get me published!). Anyway, my heart just breaks for her son and his wife. I cannot imagine how they must be feeling right now. I don’t know what yet, but I know that God is pushing me to do something, anything. I’m still in prayer about it, but when the time comes, I am sure I will discuss it here. In the meantime, here is the scene earlier today….