Found that classic poster, and the story of the birth of the fire-prevention icon, on a U.S. Forest Service website.
The lack of any real rain lately has those in the know warning us of high fire risk levels. Strangely (although none were forest fires), I've been witness to no less than three fires this week. Today, at a Sunoco station in West Springfied, some one suddenly came running in, and declared the mulch on the landscaping outside was on fire.
A tossed cigarette maybe? Not what you want to see anywhere near a gas station.
A couple days ago getting into Northampton, I found the power was out all along Pleasant St. and Conz St was blocked off. A house had caught fire on Wright Ave.
Later that afternoon I got a better look at the destruction that can be wrought by fire. Emergency personnel were still on the scene...
And finally, it was very early last Sunday when I heard a horn wailing on and off, near by my house. I looked outside to see a vehicle completely engulfed in flames, the next street over. Blog-Fodder. I grabbed the camera, hopped a fence, and went over (still in my pajamas) to investigate...
The fire became pretty intense, with a couple small explosions and the horn going...
The fire department made short work of the burning vehicle. It was reduced to a smoldering hulk in a matter of minutes.
Luckily for Smokey, and us, they're predicting rain most of next week...
3 comments:
Cars burn up in just minutes. It's amazing.
Great night shots Tony considering the equipment. I had similar problems at the South Holyoke fire last week. It's impossible to adjust the camera in a timely manner. Spent 20mins once getting the exposure just right for my back yard at night.
And the heat is intense. Surprisingly, the front two tires are still intact. Night shots are tough. For that last pic, I had to place the camera against a tree to keep it from blurring, and then I had to brighten it a bit on the computer. The big spot light was shining on it from the firetruck, so there was some light to work with...
I think it is funny that they guy trying to put out the fire in the mulch has a cigarette in his mouth!
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