Tyler Burning

Fire has a morbid way of mesmerizing you. It is so tragic, yet you can't help but stare... You feel almost hypnotized after being in its presence for only short time.... Monday night a week ago, I headed downtown to meet a bride at Don Juan's on the square for contracts. I was suprised to find smoke and a firetruck and when I came out of Don Juan's less than an hour later,I saw that my truck was blocked in by an army of emergency and news vehicles and the building was ablaze. So what better to do when you're trapped downtown during a huge fire with a camera, but shoot it!

I can still smell the smoke as I'm sure many can. It actually gave me a hangover the next day as well as a smelly camera and truck interior for a week or so :P I've always wanted to shoot a fire, being a photojournalist at heart, but its the kind of thing you don't wish for it to happen so that you can...so I couldn't believe my luck to be at the right place at the wrong time. The historical significance and damage to the historical buildings that burned that day can be learned about at KLTV.com.

And on another sad note, one of the buildings was actually a fellow flickr member's family business that housed key blueprints and documents to some of the oldest buildings in Tyler's history. Our Flickr hearts go out to you and your fam, Lizzybees, as well as all the others who lost their businesses that day ...Here are some of my favorite dramatic shots of our East Texas firemen doing what they do best :