Some of the Bravest from Fairfax County

One weekend morning back in December of 2007, I turned on the news just in time for a "Breaking News" alert. They were reporting that the Fairfax County (Virginia) Fire Department was responding to a structure fire in an industrial area that happened to be fairly near my home. Our home sits up pretty high so I went to the front and looked out the window and sure enough, I could see smoke rising over the treeline several miles away. I grabbed my camera stuff and took off.

As it turns out, the builidng that was on fire was in the rear of the industrial area. Read this as: Very little to see, lots of obstructed views and no clear access to the fire scene for a guy that doesn't have press credentials. I did notice someone flash credentials at a police officer and was allowed through "the ropes." This person arrived on the scene much later than I did and I never did see a single image posted anywhere.

Oh well, I roamed around a little bit and found, literally, brick walls (and trees, fences, large trucks, etc.) blocking most of the views. Luckily, I did bring my 300mm f/2.8 lens. Although, I had to hand hold it. I managed to find support here and there (fence, truck, tree limb). I did manage to capture several images that best represented the news event based on my "no access" status.

I believe the fire began in a company that sold cardboard boxes and other paper items. I watched the news later in the day and scanned the newspapers (online) for a followup and never heard the outcome/cause of the fire. I guess that most of these events don't rise to the level of additional coverage and followup, short of casualties. Anyway you look at it, firefighters, rescue personnel and police officers put their lives on the line, daily.