Photographer’s Notebook -- Don Leach

Our fire scanner at the Daily Pilot is always on, like an AM/FM radio,

it just plays. You get used to hearing the routine runs, dispatchers and

chatter. To a news photographer, it’s part of the photo office ambience.

To others in the newsroom, it’s an annoyance.

It takes years to develop an “ear” to hear what calls are newsworthy.

It’s not up to emergency personnel to call the media, or a Code 20 as its

referred in radio lingo. They say news is never convenient. It wasn’t

this day either, as I was finishing up a very long day shooting the

annual Spirit Run and final round of Toshiba Senior Classic.

I literally had just hung up the phone after making Sunday dinner

plans with the family when, in the background, I heard radio talk about a

structure fire in Costa Mesa. I was waiting for the normal response of

“nothing showing, investigating,” which is a majority of fire calls.

I was gathering my stuff to leave when the radio dispatcher warned

units racing to the scene that several calls continued to come in about

the fire. If a lot of people are calling, usually it’s bad. The first

units thanked the dispatcher and reported they could see the “header” on

approach.

Seconds later, they reported fast moving flames and heat that drove

the first attacking firefighters back. A second alarm was called.

This got my attention. I waited and listened, car keys in hand, dinner

in mind. So many times a fire is attacked quickly and under control

withing 10 minutes. This was different. The urgency and tone of the

visual reports from the scene, as heard over the radio, proved this was

for real and would be big.

I sped to the scene. Watching the police helicopter from miles away, I

couldn’t imagine what it was. Nothing was visible until I turned left on

Whittier Street and saw the glow in the sky. “What the heck is that?” I

thought.

You could see the flames billowing from over the residential rooftops.

Flakes of ash were floating about at my feet. No wonder firefighters were

driven back -- this was huge! What was burning? It was well involved and

flames were shooting into the sky. It was ugly and out of control.

I tried to remain calm as I gathered my equipment, which was packed

away from earlier in the day. You want to run when it’s like this; I

stayed calm but fumbled to get a memory card in the camera as I jogged to

the scene. Luckily I charged the camera batteries on site at the Toshiba

tourney.

Since I was the first media person there, I had to show my press cards

-- something I haven’t done in a while. Costa Mesa Police Department got

me quick clearance, and seconds later I was right there. I leaped over a

hedge to shoot from a parking lot in front of what I now learned was a

commercial business complex going up.

The rush was on as I concentrated on showing the enormous battle going

on. In a controlled frenzy, firefighters pumped water into the building’s

ugly burning interior. For lack of better words, it was an awesome, sad

sight. You couldn’t even tell what businesses operated there.

The interior continued to burn as I concentrated on getting some

telling shots. As it slowed down and firefighters worked to control the

blaze, I began to think about what had burned, how lives would be changed

after this.

No one was injured in the fire and when I left the scene I was

exhausted, hungry and thirsty. I took one more look at the battle line

of firefighters shooting water at the blaze and I realized I had it easy.

I could go home. They would have to stay there for several more hours.

* DON LEACH is a photographer for the Daily Pilot.