NCPS News

Apologies, this article should have appeared shortly after the meeting....

On 21st March Tony Myers gave us his insight into Fire-fighters of the World. This fascinating talk had the rapt attention of the audience from start to finish. Apparently it was winning a competition at his local club that persuaded Tony to pursue photography alongside his day job as a fire-fighter. He spent 25 years fighting fires and a subsequent three years as a fire investigation officer.

Tony produced a great variety of fire images ranging from a Warehouse fire and a Rubber factory fire that burned for three days (allowing plenty of time to go back and retake the photograph, if the first one was not up to standard) to a chip-pan fire. He demonstrated the folly of putting water on burning oil and showed pictures of some terrible burns on children.

As his fame as a photographer spread he got invitations to visit fire-stations abroad and was able to compare the techniques and equipment in countries as widely dispersed as Japan, China and New York. He compared the initial training durations of just six weeks in the USA with the three months of the UK and nine months in Japan. In the USA they placed more emphasis on learning on the job. Keeping low on the floor was important, not just for avoiding the smoke, but also to minimise heating of the body. Foam was an important space filler, used to expel the oxygen which fed the fires.

Some wondered how he had time for the photography when he was busy fighting the fire. Did he keep a compact camera in his back pocket? Well, apparently he did carry his camera as a useful adjunct to record situations for later consideration, but Tony admitted that some of his great pictures were taken on training days for new staff.

Still having some time available after his main presentation Tony ran a short digital video with sound (Pictures-to-exe) of some of the images presented earlier.

President Richard Scaife thanked Tony for an enthralling evening.

Home News News Index Report About us Syllabus Exhibition Results Service Newsletter Galleries Links		Tony Myers – Photographic Fireman
		Apologies, this article should have appeared shortly after the meeting.... On 21st March Tony Myers gave us his insight into Fire-fighters of the World. This fascinating talk had the rapt attention of the audience from start to finish. Apparently it was winning a competition at his local club that persuaded Tony to pursue photography alongside his day job as a fire-fighter. He spent 25 years fighting fires and a subsequent three years as a fire investigation officer. Tony produced a great variety of fire images ranging from a Warehouse fire and a Rubber factory fire that burned for three days (allowing plenty of time to go back and retake the photograph, if the first one was not up to standard) to a chip-pan fire. He demonstrated the folly of putting water on burning oil and showed pictures of some terrible burns on children. As his fame as a photographer spread he got invitations to visit fire-stations abroad and was able to compare the techniques and equipment in countries as widely dispersed as Japan, China and New York. He compared the initial training durations of just six weeks in the USA with the three months of the UK and nine months in Japan. In the USA they placed more emphasis on learning on the job. Keeping low on the floor was important, not just for avoiding the smoke, but also to minimise heating of the body. Foam was an important space filler, used to expel the oxygen which fed the fires. Some wondered how he had time for the photography when he was busy fighting the fire. Did he keep a compact camera in his back pocket? Well, apparently he did carry his camera as a useful adjunct to record situations for later consideration, but Tony admitted that some of his great pictures were taken on training days for new staff. Still having some time available after his main presentation Tony ran a short digital video with sound (Pictures-to-exe) of some of the images presented earlier. President Richard Scaife thanked Tony for an enthralling evening. Bill Chadband
Back