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| 7/23/15 inks, colored pencils |
Around 3 a.m. we were awakened by sirens from multiple fire
engines and other emergency vehicles – and they were stopping disturbingly
close to our home. The sirens seemed to go on for nearly an hour. The 6:30 a.m.
TV news showed where they were busy: Three houses had caught fire only four blocks away from us!
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| 7/23/15 inks, watercolor, colored pencil |
After breakfast we walked up to Eighth Avenue Northeast and
Northeast 86th Street to see the damage. Not much was left of the
house where the fire originated; only a few blackened supporting beams
remained, and I could see all the way through it to the scorched trees behind. Wisps
of smoke still rose from the smoldering timbers. The two houses on either side
were both badly damaged also. Directly across the street at the St. Catherine
of Siena School (adjacent to the church of the same name), several windows had blown out from the heat, and
shattered glass covered the sidewalk. Even the power lines nearest the houses
were scorched. About a hundred firefighters worked overnight to put the fire
out.
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| 7/23/15 inks |
Very fortunately, no one was injured.
As I sketched, I overheard the growing crowd of neighbors chatting
with the owners of the three houses. I was thinking that the destroyed middle
house had still been under construction, and indeed, that was the case. The
cause of the fire was yet unknown. I felt bad for the owners, standing on the
sidewalk with the rest of us, looking exhausted and stunned.
Three fire engines were still at the scene draining water from their hoses. I didn’t see any TV reporters, but a TV camera van was still there, along with a photographer.
I'm glad nobody was injured! Good job of reportage sketching.
ReplyDeleteWow...that must have been a bit frightening. Glad all is well. Your sketches of the event are great.
ReplyDelete