Hope you guys appreciate the entry because I will NOT be reshooting it! This unlikely photo is my neighbor's house burning to the ground in spectacular fashion about 150 feet from my back door. Firefighters from six towns responded the blaze, but the structure was completely gone in 30 minutes and several fire hoses were lost to the intense heat. A huge stockpile of fireworks and ammunition had apparently been stored in the garage, and when the garage collapsed it set off a series of explosions that rocked the entire neighborhood. This was one of the last frames I took before the bigger munitions started going off and I hit the deck. A volunteer firefighter shielded me on the ground with his body as roman candles and flaming debris rained down on us (it burned my hair in one spot). When the explosions had died down enough to look up, we found a brush fire only inches behind us and I had to make a run for home. Fortunately there were no serious injuries and emergency crews did an incredible job of keeping the fire from spreading. They decided to let it burn out, and it was still a pretty big fire when I went to sleep 8 hours later. I gave a framed print of this photo to the local fire department as thanks.
Interesting side story: I can see the site through the trees outside my office window, and a week later I noticed some activity over there. Looking closely, I saw that it was a fencing company, but the people appeared to be inside the foundation area of the house. Hmm... I snuck through the woods and videotaped the guys in glorious 1080HD as they poked through the rubble and carried away whatever they could salvage in canvas bags. The police caught them and they confessed to looting the property. Dirtbags. >:-(
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Was away when the FS results were announced, can't believe this did not ribbon ! Thanks for sharing your pictures and story - amazing is the only word I could come up with.
Incredible story you have to tell. The out takes are spectacular! Just seeing the smoke trails gives me the shivers. I was at a fireworks accident once. Yikes! A tremendous PJ shot. I hope the papers printed it.
I'm surprised there was anything left to loot! What was the ammunition that was stored there? In any event, it's a spectacular shot. Glad those firefighters were at the top of their game that day!
I came over here to see if there was a story...and there was! Thanks. And I'm glad nobody got hurt, except for your one bald spot. I guess now your neighbor's secret stash is no longer a secret! or a stash!
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