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.

Training Burn

Brandon Crank, right, and Charles Morrow with the Gastonia Fire Dept. keep a fire under control after conducting training in the abandoned house on S. Firestone Street on Thursday March 1, 2012. Loray Baptist Church, which owns the property, plans to clear the lot and convert it to a community garden.  

I love taking pictures of training fires. I get to acknowledge my inner pyro, take some cool pictures and at the end of the day I don't have to feel bad that someone lost their home (or worse). 

I think the firefighters feel the same way. 

In any event, I found an easy feature and only got a little sunburned from the fire. 

Firefighting Couple

Husband and wife firefighting duo Kenny and Julie Griffin pose in their turnout gear in the exercise room at their Lincolnton home on Monday February 13, 2012. Julie is employed full-time with the Charlotte Fire Dept. and Kenny is full-time with the Gastonia Fire Dept. 

I had an assignment to photograph this Lincolnton couple yesterday. I think if they ever decided to quit fighting fires for a living they could probably make it as interior designers. Their rural home was beautiful and game me a couple of excellent backdrops for photos. 

It was abundantly clear after spending half an hour or so with these guys that they love (at least) three things; each other, their careers and their dogs. 

I think the top photo sums it up, but as always, I think it's important to try to get at least two distinct shots from a portrait assignment, if possible. 

I also wanted to incorporate the red striped walls and vintage piano into a photo and have an option where they weren't in turnout gear. I ended up framing such that you can hardly tell they're at a piano, but I still like it as a more intimate compliment to the above photo.  

Gaston remembers 9-11

Devin McKenney, left, lights a candle for fellow Community Fire Department firefighter Stephen Roberts at the 10th Annual We Will Never Forget ceremony in Stanley on Sunday September 11, 2011. Over 100 firefighters from 18 departments attended this year's event.

Linda English Edwards points the the plaque for her father to her grandson Ayden Whitney, 6, at the new Gastonia Police Memorial following a joint 9-11 memorial and dedication ceremony in front of the Gastonia Police station on Sunday September 11, 2011. Edward's father, Officer James Edward 'Red' English, was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1948 when she was 7 years old.

Up in Smoke

Firefighters battle a fire on the roof of a building at National Gypsum on Drywall Drive in Mount Holly on Saturday April 16, 2011.