Photographing Firefighters’ in action along the way
I’m always looking out for the photographs you see on route between assignments. Last week I came across a great sequence of images documenting London Fire Brigade Firefighters putting out a house fire. I came across this incident on route as I drove through Croydon. Pulling up in my car at a road junction, I noticed a lot of activity outside residential houses on the street. One man was going from house to house knocking on doors. Just from watching this short moment I knew something serious was happening. The man was warning people to leave their homes as smoke billowed above the roofs on the street. I parked up, quickly getting out with my cameras which I normally have sat next to me on the passenger seat. Once I established what was happening I began to take photographs of the situation unfolding.
Within Minutes Three Fire Engines Appeared
Luckily I’ve never witnessed Fire Services arriving my own home address. When photographing fire emergencies in the past, the Firefighters have been at the scene before I arrived. Seeing the procedure from the start was quite amazing. First of all Firefighters going into to the houses to establish the cause of the fire. Then on the street the team setting up the water supply and preparing the hoses. This is the moment I noticed a female Firefighter carrying a heavy roll of hose. I was really pleased the way I caught the action of the fire hose being rolled out. Even happier seeing an operational female firefighter as the percentage of female firefighters continues to increase.
It wasn’t a serious incident. A roof extension catching fire. Nobody within the building.