Training to fight fire in Howard County

18 photos, 1 video

I can’t speak for all photographers, but taking photos of a raging fire has a firm position on my “photos I’d love to take” bucket list.

The caveat being that no one gets hurt.

Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph and shoot video of the Howard County Fire Department’s controlled demolition burn in Ellicott City, Md. Trainees worked with instructors to control and observe how fires travel through a home. It was interesting to see how the trainees worked together and kept their cool through an extremely hot situation. I’m not quite sure how they manage to move so quickly in their heavy clothes and heavier gear (and here I thought my tripod was heavy!).

Photographing the trainees and burning homes was a memorable experience and while they were practicing their skills, I was too… Just in case I ever do get that bucket list photo.

RELATED

Rappeling off of Route 70 from The Darkroom on Vimeo.

Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services also held a training exercise for high-angle rope rescues off of Interstate 70. A participant in the rappelling wore a GoPro camera to give a first-person view of the drop. Video by Jen Rynda.