Fire!

We had another local fire yesterday.  It was right next to the warehouse that burnt down almost exactly a year ago.  It is an abandoned house and it seems that no one was hurt - fire fighters included.  I saw fire trucks from Schenectady, Rotterdam and Niskayuna.  The house seems a total loss to these unprofessional eyes - we'll know more in a few days.  Lots of smoke covered the neighbourhood for a few hours.  Since the house was vacant and electricity was cut off, the fire chief has called it 'suspicious'.  Not really a surprise.

F Number	10.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/640
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	160
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Hot and cold

We had 6 to 8 inches of snow during the day, so the street is narrower than usual, because the plows clear a lane in the middle and push it all to the side.  After a while, the street will only allow a single car to pass, where in the summer cars park on both sides and there is still room (mostly) for two cars to pass by each other.

And so people park in the middle of the street when they come to pick someone up or drop them off.  Where else can they go?

This car caught fire.  I don't know what happened, but everyone got out all right.  The fire engine made it down and put the fire out before anything else went up.

This is hand-held, at night and therefore shaky.  I let the camera decide on the exposure, and shot a dozen or so images.  You can see the firemen around the car, silhouetted by the flames and the lights from the fire truck.  The snow around me is lit up because a Chinese takeout car pulled up to make a delivery.  All together, a surreal experience.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	4
Exposure Program	Program AE
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

4 alarm fire

Last night around supper time we saw billowing clouds of dark smoke. From here, it seemed as if the corner store was on fire. Walking down there, it was clear that the store was OK, but the building on the south side of State Street was not.

This same building, the former White House Flea Market, had a smaller fire several weeks ago, and was boarded up. Tonight, the attached house was on fire, and it spread.

At least four units were called to the fire: Schenectady 1 and 2, Stanford Heights (Niskayuna) and Carman. There were 3 ladder trucks, like the one in the photo as well as 2 pumpers. Fire crews are still on the scene this morning.

Very fortunately, all the involved buildings were abandoned or unoccupied, so no one was hurt. Arson is suspected.