Lexington Orchard Fire

On October 6th, 2008 an orchard warehouse was consumed by fire just west of Lexington, Mi on M-90. Lexington Fire Department responded and set up a drop tank and started drafting with a pumper. I was at home cutting the grass when I witnessed a large black plume suddenly rise north of the house. I though a plane had crashed and grabbed the boy and we headed north with my Nikon in hand. One we got into closer the color of the smoke changed from black to gray and I knew it was not a plane but a structure. That was confirmed when my son and I parked and I started photographing the operation.

One shocking thing I observed was all the firefighters dropping their lines and hoses to pose for a picture. They did this with their backs to the fire as you can see in the last photo below. You never turn your back on a structure fire or any fire! One firefighter was heard yelling "Picture... come on!" and I watched as they shut down the pumps and put down the hoses and ran to assemble in front of the burning ruins.