Spodeworld's Albums | |||
Album Title | Pictures | Last Picture | |
K-30 Photos | 6 | 05-30-17 12:31 PM | |
K-01 Photos
Various shots with the K-01
| 4 | 12-04-16 01:28 PM | |
MX-1 Shots
Various images taken with the MX-1
| 9 | 02-18-15 12:06 PM | |
K20D images
Various shots taken with K20D
| 2 | 12-22-14 09:30 AM | |
The Great Avalon Fire
The following are pictures of the aftermath of the massive fire that took down the #Avalon complex in #Edgewater #NJ. It started on January 21 and was so intense that 35 fire departments from in and out of state participated, including the New York Fire Department, which employed its boats to pump water from the Hudson. Twenty four hours later, the flames were still being put out and smoke continued to billow out of the charred remains of the complex. At the end, over 1,000 people were displaced, many losing everything they had. Most were young families with small children who undoubtedly are terribly scared and confused, as are their parents, who are grappling with the near impossible task of putting their shattered lives back together. Many, too, are immigrants and probably do not have much in the way of family support nearby. The Avalon was a showcase of substandard building materials. Add to the mix clueless help and you have the makings of a disaster, which is just what happened here. In this case, it was the careless use of a blow torch by the maintenance crew and the fact that after the fire started, instead of calling 911, they called the supervisor. It wasn't until 15 minutes had passed that the fire department was first contacted. By then, it was too late. With constructions materials that are marginally better than paper, there is no margin for error. When I was out taking pictures (Jan 24), I saw a distraught woman by the complex who was alternating between sobbing and calling out the names of the five cats she hasn't been able to locate since the event. I wanted to take her picture as it was emblematic of the deep, emotional loss many are feeling. She was in such anguish though that just I couldn't bring myself to do it. I hope they escaped and that they will be re-united, but I know that the odds of that happening are not very high. | 0 | None |