Hello everyone,
So far this year, I have been late to almost every fire that I have been to. I live in RI, about an hour from Boston but frequently travel there. I was listening to Boston the other night and heard them strike the box for the fire on Lexington Street in East Boston. This area is isolated from Boston and is very densely populated. The streets are full of three deckers, separated by no more than three or four feet.
A fire broke out in a vehicle between two three-deckers and extended to both. District Chief 1 covers East Boston and falls under the command of Division 1. On his arrival, District 1 reported heavy fire in two dwellings and struck a second alarm. The wind swept fire quickly spread through the roof and extended to another building on Lexington. District 1 struck four alarms within the first five minutes of operating, all before the deputy arrived. Once on scene, C-6, the Deputy, assumed command and made District 1 operations chief. Eight alarms would be needed to bring the fire under control.
I left my house as the sixth alarm was struck and arrived after the fire had been knocked down. The most popular photo of this fire is of the BMW parked on the hydrant. My photo isn’t the one that went viral but I walked right past it when walking to the fire scene. It is one of those things that I can scratch off of my list of things that as a fire photographer I have always wanted to shoot.
Since I don’t go out much at night, it also gave me a chance to see how reflective the new green on green stripes are on the new gear. It is far more noticeable than the green with silver. For those that are familiar with the Boston Fire Department, I included a photo of Engine 24 and one of the officer of Engine 52. Engine 24, along with Ladder 23, are two very busy companies from the Grove Hall section of Roxbury. Engine 52, housed with Ladder 29, is located on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester. Neither one of these companies are remotely close to East Boston and it is very rare to see them there.
Tom Carmody
Tom Carmody photo
Tom Carmody photo
Tom Carmody photo
Tom Carmody photo
Tom Carmody photo
Tom Carmody photo
Tom Carmody photo