Holiday lights

Oliver Lara-Bennett, 1, plays with light-up snowmen and penguin figures in McAdenville on Tuesday December 4, 2012.

Holiday lights decorate Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, above and below, on Thursday December 6, 2012.

A nice evening for arson

Firefighters asses the situation after arriving at 303 Lowell Ave. just off of Wilkinson Blvd. near McAdenville to find a mobile home fully engulfed in flames on Friday March 23, 2012. McAdenville, Lowell, New Hope and Belmont Fire Departments responded to the blaze, which was brought under control quickly with no injuries. Gaston County Police were called to the residence earlier in the day for a domestic, and the fire marshall is now indicating the blaze may be arson. 

Sometimes preparedness pays off. Friday night I had just gotten into my car to leave work when I heard a structure fire dispatched. The address caught my attention. It's the same address where police were called out to a domestic a few hours earlier.

This could be interesting, I though.  

And, as luck would have it, I pulled up on this fire right behind the first fire engine. I was standing there camera ready as they assessed the situation (above) and began fighting the fire (below). 

It's a good thing too; mobile homes fast. It was probably less than 25 minutes from when the first dispatch about the call came out to when the fire was more or less under control. 

Firefighters begin attacking the blaze.

Merry Christmas!

McAdenville, NC (aka Christmastown USA) puts on a grand show of lights and decorations each year that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the tiny town. These are a few photos I shot in McAdenville on December 21.

Lights on Parade

Mary Lynn Geisler, left, and Christine Palko take in the McAdenville Christmas lights from a tour bus on Dec. 9. The two were part of a tour group from Tennessee that was visiting Gaston County attractions, including McAdenville, downtown Belmont, and Stowe Botanical Gardens.