Sunday March 22, while on my way to cover a quilt show I was diverted to a fire at the Pevely Farms Dairy complex on the corner of Grand and Chouteau avenues.  It seems like the majority of fires we go to are minor and so I assumed that would be the case again.  I was wrong.  As I approached I could see the smoke billowing into the sky while still on the highway.  By the time I arrived the fire fighters had been pulled out of the building which appeared to be a total loss.  I began photographing the fire crews as they worked to contain the blaze.

Smoke spewed from the windows and roof.  The media was allowed to wander around on the opposite side of the street, which placed us approximately 35 feet from the burning building.  I had been photographing for about an hour and everything seemed fine until I heard a loud crack.  I looked up in time to see what appeared to be a wave ripple from bottom to top of the solid four-story brick building, then a giant cloud of smoke and debris rapidly began to move toward us.  The building was collapsing before our eyes.

As photographers we are often put into potentially dangerous situations.  We cover fires, shootings, car accidents, police chases, and natural disasters.  While it is rare that one of these assignments would evolve into a threat to life and limb, I often wonder what I would do if it did. Am I the hardcore photographer who runs towards the danger, knowingly putting yourself in harms way to get the shot? Or will I run the other way to protect myself?

As reality set in and the building fell, people started to scream and ran to get out of the way. It seemed surreal at the time. I reacted out of instinct and ran the opposite way with everyone else. After about twenty feet I stopped and turned around. The smoke and debris had engulfed the area where I was previously standing.  A quick inspection showed that everyone was fine. Radios buzzed to life asking if all the firefighters were accounted for, they came back confirmed. It wasn’t until I reached down to change my lens that I realized my hands were shaking and took notice of how fast my heart was beating. Eventually we were allowed back closer to the building and everyone started talking about the collapse as they wiped the dust out of their eyes.  The inevitable question was raised between the groups of photographers, “Did you get the shot?”

I missed the shot. I started to think about it. Was I disappointed with myself for turning and running away? The situation turned out fine but it could have been much worse.  Though it would have been great to capture the chaos of the moment, I was glad my instincts kicked in.  Ultimately I’m happy with my decision to save the gear and myself.  Still, I can’t help but wonder what that picture might have looked like.

I took this photo shortly after the building collapsed. Prior to the collapse I was standing in front of the sidewalk in the area now covered in smoke.

The collapsed four story building continues to spew smoke.

A crowd gathers to watch the building burn down.

The remaining part of the building collapses.