Rafael
Mandlerian
For the second time in a couple weeks, I found myself photographing the scene of a fire today. This one was very different from the last. I arrived at the scene just after four firefighters had been forced to jump from a third story window. They had gone into the building to rescue a man trapped inside. They succeeded. But, apparently, a sudden blast of flames came up through the building and trapped the four, cutting off their exit route. So they were forced to jump. I have since learned that all four survived their falls (the most seriously injured firefighter has a broken pelvis, several other broken bones, as well as burn injuries). But at the time, it was not yet clear whether all would survive. And you could see the concern on the faces of the other firefighters at the scene (to give you a sense of how many were on scene, there twenty fire trucks there).
Anyway, the fire was mostly under control by the time that I arrived. So I focussed most of my attention on photographing the firefighters. Knowing that they were continuing to do their jobs despite what had happened to their comrades and despite the uncertainty about their condition, I found the whole experience to be very moving. I have incredible respect for all of those firefighters. I just hope that I managed to make a couple of photographs that will do them justice.
Anyway, the fire was mostly under control by the time that I arrived. So I focussed most of my attention on photographing the firefighters. Knowing that they were continuing to do their jobs despite what had happened to their comrades and despite the uncertainty about their condition, I found the whole experience to be very moving. I have incredible respect for all of those firefighters. I just hope that I managed to make a couple of photographs that will do them justice.
