Don’t get caught in quicksand

I made a classic error when I arrived at the scene of what would be a 4th Alarm fire in Northlake, IL.  What I witnessed upon my arrival is in this first image.

huge fire scene at night
Larry Shapiro photo

I saw this huge fireball partially obscured by trees and I sat there watching it and trying to frame several types of images with the building, firefighters, and apparatus.

Humvee at massive fire scene
Larry Shapiro photo

There was a massive firestorm behind this unique Humvee, and I was looking for a calendar image with several different units at the scene … waiting for this great backdrop. I was probably in the front of the building for close to a half hour before I moved around another side to find …

massive building fire at night
Larry Shapiro photo
massive building fire at night
Larry Shapiro photo

By the time these images were taken, there was still some impressive fire to be captured … but, these walls collapsed after I had arrived on the scene. If I had moved around earlier, I’d have had a spectacular calendar image with exploding flames behind the apparatus working on this side.

So … lesson learned … keep your eyes moving and more important, don’t let your feet get stuck in one place. You won’t know what you’re missing.