Beat the fire trucks!

Point 1: No one was hurt.
Point 2: I'm happy with my shots, taken less than an hour ago, already in to the small-town paper (cough). :)

Call went out, vehicle fire on a nearby highway headed over the mountains. I put down my just-poured glass of wine, grab the camera and go!

Got on scene, pulled the heck off the road behind rubberneckers, and ran up, stopping behind the marshal's car I recognized. I believe the term is "fully engulfed."



I heard on the scanner driving up that ammunition inside the thing was going off... hence my tactical position behind the squad car. Sure enough, I heard some good terrifying booms as my shaking hands took focus.

After about four minutes, the fire trucks arrived.



Note the sloshing. That tender truck is about to pay for itself.



The deputy in the foreground had grabbed a shovel from someone's truck, as the fire had spread into the nearby brush. We're so friggin' dry here in Colorado, it's dangerous right now.



The other deputy, who had done the same, amazingly isn't leaning on that shovel. It's high 90's here right now, those boys were working.



Point 3: It's hard to take bad photos of any kind of fire.
Point 4: Always have your card empty and your batteries charged.
Point 5: Best part? I went back to my truck as soon as the fire was largely out, the deputy who saw me behave so responsibly stopped traffic so I could turn around and head home!
Point 6: My wine was still cold by the time I got home. :D

These are great.

I don't think there is any money involved, but you might try submitting your photos here.
http://www.firephoto.org/

I don't wanna back myself into a corner... I'm still trying to convince people I can take pictures of things besides firemen, as I've gotten quite lucky with them in the past (see a couple below). They do love me for it, tho'... never met anyone not running for office so eager to have their picture taken as a firefighter. :D

When I started following that site just a few months ago there were only a few states represented. Now all the states are represented as well as other countries. It's hard to find local coverage at this point.

I love taking photos of fires. Here are some of mine from when I lived in the Southwest.