browe, the truck engineer raised the ladder before any of the FFs began climbing. This was a apartment fire in a very dense part of Pacific Heights in San Francisco. He was the first one up, followed by four others. I was in the area to shoot 'pretty people' not my normal MO, as I tend to like the common man/woman with exceptional expressions. I heard the fire trucks, went around the corner and the event was in full activity.

Super shot, pursang.

Wow Mark. Terrific shot. And serendipity. You turn a corner, there it is. Reminds me of a shot I saw many years ago - a b&w of a man leaping from the driver's seat of a circa 1940s era pickup truck as a small aircraft is just beginning its crash into the vehicle. As is the norm, the photographer (whose name I can't recall) remarked simply that he was only able to make the shot because he always had a camera at hand. Congrats on a well deserved feature! (Just goes to show you don't need a transvesite in a tutu to get things done around here ;-)

Claremont, Nick, Dave_Mac, kadenajack, King and George, thank you for the kind words. Kadenajack, I looked at a tighter crop, but the added space really adds to the image for me giving space to a tense image.

George, I'm almost never without my gear and get teased about it quite a bit. Actually, people tease me more now when I don't have my stuff! Let 'em laugh I say, as it's something I dearly enjoy. And I've kicked myself for two shots that I've missed that would have been killer! I regret missing them to this day.

Thanks again.

pursang, That really is a great shot and as we say as firefighters its a "really good" fire. What better combination, you get to test your skills to capture the moment and they test theirs as well.

@browe...
If you are a firefighter, then you are my hero. My son and I were burned in a house fire in 1990.
Pursang, sorry to use your space, but this is the most ready way to send a message to browe and all firefighters in appreciation of their work.