A Day in the Life: The 8th Battalion, Philadelphia Fire Department

[JawsofLife252]

For my senior project at Drexel I did a photojournalism piece on the Philadelphia Fire Department. I went back and forth for a month and a half with the Fire Commissioner and his secretary nailing down loose ends and fine print, but I was eventually assigned to Battalion 8 in North Philadelphia. For everyone that does not know what I am talking about, a Battalion Chief is in charge of several companies in an area. I was with Battalion 8 who is housed in Engine 50 and Ladder 12's station. I was embedded with them for 3 tours. I was told that they are the busiest battalion in Philly. The first day I was with them was May 4th. At that point they had already seen 130+ fires in Engine 50's station alone since Jan. 1. I only caught one fire with them and pretty much no other calls. The tour after I stopped running with them, they had a 2 alarm fire, go figure. It was okay though because there is more to their story than just fighting fire. The show might be exhibited in the Philly Fire Museum in the fall. I have to wait until their renovations are complete.

Please follow this link and watch the slideshow:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photodave85/sets/72157618891043633/
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/photodave85/sets/72157618891043633/)

Here are a few teasers, C&C is appreciated.

1.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3507527137_10f47bac63_o.jpg

2.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3579/3507527291_f6f300ed62_o.jpg

3.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3568/3508337102_bc6ea981db_o.jpg

4.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3614/3507527663_1cdf5d6ed2_o.jpg

5.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3377/3507528069_5bba6c7682_o.jpg

6.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/3508351564_2e05c42f54_o.jpg

7.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2482/3556440061_6dc9264874_o.jpg


Just in case you were wondering, I earned an A for the project and completed my degree.

[NeutronBoy]

nice job Dave.

[HarrisonClicks]

Great idea and great job. If you want, you can come ride with our company and you will see more than your share of non-emergency fire alarms and transfer and stand-by details. :cry:

[Chronoknight]

The picture with the chainsaw (?) is absolutely stunning. You captured the action of the moment very well, it's my favorite!

[airfrogusmc]

Great job!!!

[JawsofLife252]

nice job Dave.

Thanks!

Great idea and great job. If you want, you can come ride with our company and you will see more than your share of non-emergency fire alarms and transfer and stand-by details. :cry:

Thanks, I have the same situation at my station lol. Where are you located?

The picture with the chainsaw (?) is absolutely stunning. You captured the action of the moment very well, it's my favorite!

Thank you. Yeah it's a chainsaw. There was water too because the engine company was hitting a hot spot next to the firefighter with the saw.

Great job!!!

Thank you!

[madscotsman]

My Fire service (i'm full time firefighter) no longer allows us to carry digital recording devices, incuding phones, cameras etc, they claim they could cause an explosion if used in a gas environment.... go figure.....so i can't get images of fires i'm at, pity as there have been some crackers, although i have managed an odd snap with my mobile phone before the current ban came in , but no where near the quality i would have liked to have got!

[jgrussell]

Very nicely done. You surely earned your A.

[Gibbo]

Great images there Dave. I also find the image with the chainsaw great. The expression on the guy's face makes it.

[Rotel1026]

My Fire service (i'm full time firefighter) no longer allows us to carry digital recording devices, incuding phones, cameras etc, they claim they could cause an explosion if used in a gas environment.... go figure.....so i can't get images of fires i'm at, pity as there have been some crackers, although i have managed an odd snap with my mobile phone before the current ban came in , but no where near the quality i would have liked to have got!

Mythbusters tested the cell phones causing ignition of gas fumes myth and came to the conclusion that it was not possible, I believe they even revisited during a later episode and came to the same conclusion.

[JawsofLife252]

Very nicely done. You surely earned your A.

Thank you very much. A lot of time was put into it, especially during the planning and editing stages.

[nicksan]

#6 = wow.

[2bluesti]

I like numbers five and six. Nice series.

[Chris_H]

great photos, nicely done!

[Richtherookie]

Great shots. I like how you captured ho life can really be. It ain't all fires and action. Nothing better than a rookies jaw dropping when they figure out they have to spend 4 more hours getting a truck ready. Can't wait to go check out your site.

#6 is nice, but the FF in me just wants to pound my fists and scream. "Put down your damn shield!"

[rcfury]

Great images.. You defiantly have an eye. I really enjoyed looking at your flicker site and explaining the images.. It helps alot describing how each shot was taken with some tricky exposure situations.. A+

I take my hat off to all the good men who go out and fight the fires!

[BucketMan]

Nice job, I think you captured some of the Fire House spirit.

Above and beyond the complexity of getting a good exposure most would not understand the other and in my opinion far more difficult aspect of getting these photos. This of course is being "accepted" into the fire house. Having an outsider come and do a ride-a-long or simply come by to take pictures can turn into an uncomfortable process for some photogs. This may be hard to understand for those not affiliated in the fire service, however imagine a photog showing up at your house where you live and wanting to "hang out" with you and record your life...kinda weird right?

Yes, the fire house is our house, note that I call it a fire house and not a fire station, cause we are family and we live there together. Usually I end up spending more time with the guys on my crew than my own wife, so you can imagine you can get close with one another. Add someone who is not usually there and that can make for an uncomfortable time. Additionally with the political correctness of todays world having traditional fire house pranks and "fun" can turn into a real nightmare for the prankster. So getting the FF's to act naturally is pretty much impossible, lol.

Anywho, again great series and I look forward to seeing more of it and congrats on your "A", well deserved.

[JawsofLife252]

Nice job, I think you captured some of the Fire House spirit.

Above and beyond the complexity of getting a good exposure most would not understand the other and in my opinion far more difficult aspect of getting these photos. This of course is being "accepted" into the fire house. Having an outsider come and do a ride-a-long or simply come by to take pictures can turn into an uncomfortable process for some photogs. This may be hard to understand for those not affiliated in the fire service, however imagine a photog showing up at your house where you live and wanting to "hang out" with you and record your life...kinda weird right?

Yes, the fire house is our house, note that I call it a fire house and not a fire station, cause we are family and we live there together. Usually I end up spending more time with the guys on my crew than my own wife, so you can imagine you can get close with one another. Add someone who is not usually there and that can make for an uncomfortable time. Additionally with the political correctness of todays world having traditional fire house pranks and "fun" can turn into a real nightmare for the prankster. So getting the FF's to act naturally is pretty much impossible, lol.

Anywho, again great series and I look forward to seeing more of it and congrats on your "A", well deserved.

Thank you. You nailed it on the head. It was very hard for me to feel accepted at the house, I think they "tested" me a couple times, but by the second day they seemed more okay with me, and allowed me to play games like darts with them. When the box came in for the only fire I saw when I was with them, they were all yelling and pushing me towards the Battalion car and telling me to get good shots.

[GPFocussed]

Excellent series!

[MDJAK]

well done.

[Phillydigishooter]

Great shots Dave. I like the action captures 5 and 6.

[Richtherookie]

Yah, tough to explain "Brotherhood".

[JawsofLife252]

Thanks for the great comments everyone. I appreciate it.

[rohicks]

Not bad mate.
I"m gearing up to do a firefighter calendar for the local department for their 2010 year.
They wanted something different then the last 3 years they have had it done; the lady that does it, does traditional portraiture style. I will probably be doing it in photojournalistic style however I can not stay with them while they are on duty due to my other work and school restrictions, so most of my shots will be staged to look like action (hopefully).

Looking through your set for inspiration, and any tips shooting firefighters is welcomed ;).
Good job on your project.

[Richtherookie]

Skill, do the brothers of the fire department your shooting for know you? It will be much easier for you to be one of them if you hang out a little, if you can. They will be more relaxed, and if they know your safe it would be easy. If you came to my station and I didn't know you i'd have to keep one on you. If I got to know you, and knew you were safe and not going to pull of some stupid stunt, i would be more relaxed and your shots would look more real.

[rohicks]

Skill, do the brothers of the fire department your shooting for know you? It will be much easier for you to be one of them if you hang out a little, if you can. They will be more relaxed, and if they know your safe it would be easy. If you came to my station and I didn't know you i'd have to keep one on you. If I got to know you, and knew you were safe and not going to pull of some stupid stunt, i would be more relaxed and your shots would look more real.

Some of then know me and some of them don't
I've already covered an event for them during their award ceremony back in April so they are used to seeing me pointing a lens at them. I'll keep in mind some of your advice when scheduling the separate shoots.

[JawsofLife252]

Not bad mate.
I"m gearing up to do a firefighter calendar for the local department for their 2010 year.
They wanted something different then the last 3 years they have had it done; the lady that does it, does traditional portraiture style. I will probably be doing it in photojournalistic style however I can not stay with them while they are on duty due to my other work and school restrictions, so most of my shots will be staged to look like action (hopefully).

Looking through your set for inspiration, and any tips shooting firefighters is welcomed ;).
Good job on your project.

Thanks for the comments. The only advice I have is not to use any flash. Depends on the look you are going for. I'm just a stickler about the scotch-brite reflections in photos. You can check out my flickr if you want to see what you can do without flash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/photodave85/

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'll be glad to answer them.

-Dave

[photomedic310]

Awesome...Awesome...Awesome Pictures.As a paramedic student I rode with that medic unit out of that house for 3 months

[rohicks]

Thanks for the comments. The only advice I have is not to use any flash. Depends on the look you are going for. I'm just a stickler about the scotch-brite reflections in photos. You can check out my flickr if you want to see what you can do without flash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/photodave85/

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'll be glad to answer them.

-Dave
Hey Dave here is some of the calendar I was referring to if you didn't catch the thread.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=806022

[dkopicki]

GREAT stuff!! The roof ventilation one is my favorite, love your stuff on PFN!

[JawsofLife252]

GREAT stuff!! The roof ventilation one is my favorite, love your stuff on PFN!

Thanks!

[MikePrattPhotography]

seem to be missing that crispness... good shots though!! love the workout one.