BEST OF 2013: The Glass Eye: FIRE!

FIRE!
The Glass Eye: Seeing the world through the lens of a camera.
By Doug Mills

Since the dawn of time fire has warmed a cold night, or given light in the dark.  It has been mans servant to cook his food or to propel him to the moon.  It is,however, not a tame creature.  This same fire that warms a cool fall evening or lights a romantic dinner if turned loose will destroy everything in it's path!  This past weekend I had the opportunity to watch this beast turned loose under the watchful eye of the local fire department.  As a photographer this was the opportunity of a lifetime to watch the beast turned loose on a vacant building.
Every one who has ever tried to shoot at night knows that it presents some interesting challenges,  add to that growing darkness the brightness of an out of control fire and you have a photographers nightmare or the shoot of a lifetime!

Setting the beast loose.

Under the watchful eye of the professionals.

Setting up.

Whenever you are shooting look around sometimes there are some great shots sitting just behind you.

  The Fire Tornado or Fire Devil
When shooting always watch for the unusual.  As I was shooting I noticed the rare Fire tornado, formed by the heat of the fire and the cold air creating a mini tornado of fire.  In forest fire these fire tornadoes can get so strong they can uproot full grown trees!  When I first saw it on the roof I just stood there watching in awe.  I quickly came to my senses and started shooting.  The conditions were so that it spawned at least three of these Fire Tornadoes.

Grandeur of the Seas Fire!

Aircrew members aboard a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft responed to a report of a fire aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Grandeur of the Seas, northwest of West End, Bahamas, May 27, 2013. The fire started on the third deck in the rear of the ship and stretched to the fourth deck with no reported injuries. U.S. Coast Guard Photo illustration.

Commercial Fishing Vessel Arctic Storm Experiences An Engine Room Fire.

Commercial fishing vessel Arctic Storm experiences an engine room fire approximately 32 miles west of Grays Harbor, Wash., May 20, 2013. CoastGuard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews and 47-foot motor lifeboat crews oversaw the evacuation of 78 crew members after Arctic Storm's Halon firefighting system successfully extinguished the blaze.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Michael Wunderle

ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard continues to respond to an extinguished vessel fire approximately 30 miles west of Grays Harbor, Wash., Monday.

Crewmembers aboard the fishing vessel Arctic Storm successfully put out the fire using the Halon chemical firefighting system aboard the ship.

 A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria and two 47-foot motor lifeboat crews from Station Grays Harbor monitored as good Samaritan vessels evacuated 78 of the 120 personnel aboard the fishing vessel. 42 crewmembers will remain aboard Arctic Storm to man the vessel. The 78 evacuated crewmembers were moved to commercial fishing vessels Northern Voyager, Golden Alaska, Sea Dawn and Excellence. Evacuated crewmembers are scheduled to be transported to Westport, Wash.

 A tug is enroute to tow the Arctic Storm to Aberdeen, Wash.

 Arctic Storm is reported to contain approximately 188,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

 No pollution or injuries have been reported. The Washington Department of Ecology was notified and is standing by to assist, if needed.

 The Coast Guard will conduct an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Good Samaritan Helps Rescue 3 From Shrimp Boat Fire Video

HOUSTON — Three men were brought to safety by a good Samaritan after the men's shrimp boat caught fire just north of the South Galveston Jetty, Friday.

The captain of the shrimp boat Angel Lady called the watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston at 10:04 a.m., reporting that the shrimp boat Capt. Hunter was on fire with three people aboard. The Coast Guard Cutter Manta was diverted and a boatcrew from Station Galveston was launched to assist. The station boatcrew arrived in about 10 minutes, but before they arrived on scene, a good Samaritan aboard a pleasure craft rescued the three crewmembers in distress.

The tug Lamar arrived on scene at 11:16 a.m. and extinguished the fire.

"Fire is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to a boat out on the water," said Lt. Brian Sullivan, the command duty officer of Sector Houston-Galveston. "The fact that a good Samaritan put themselves in such a risky position to save lives is something we in the Coast Guard can definitely relate to."

The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the fire.

In the case of a fire, the Coast Guard renders assistance as available, based on the level of personnel training and the adequacy of equipment. As Coast Guard units do not normally have advanced firefighting capabilities, firefighting operations are limited to those that would save a life or would avert a significant threat.

The Glass Eye: FIRE!

FIRE!
The Glass Eye: Seeing the world through the lens of a camera.
By Doug Mills

Since the dawn of time fire has warmed a cold night, or given light in the dark.  It has been mans servant to cook his food or to propel him to the moon.  It is,however, not a tame creature.  This same fire that warms a cool fall evening or lights a romantic dinner if turned loose will destroy everything in it's path!  This past weekend I had the opportunity to watch this beast turned loose under the watchful eye of the local fire department.  As a photographer this was the opportunity of a lifetime to watch the beast turned loose on a vacant building.
Every one who has ever tried to shoot at night knows that it presents some interesting challenges,  add to that growing darkness the brightness of an out of control fire and you have a photographers nightmare or the shoot of a lifetime!

Setting the beast loose.

Under the watchful eye of the professionals.

Setting up.

Whenever you are shooting look around sometimes there are some great shots sitting just behind you.

  The Fire Tornado or Fire Devil
When shooting always watch for the unusual.  As I was shooting I noticed the rare Fire tornado, formed by the heat of the fire and the cold air creating a mini tornado of fire.  In forest fire these fire tornadoes can get so strong they can uproot full grown trees!  When I first saw it on the roof I just stood there watching in awe.  I quickly came to my senses and started shooting.  The conditions were so that it spawned at least three of these Fire Tornadoes.

UPDATE 5: New Orleans Pipeline Fire

A pipeline burns after an collision with tug boat Shanon E. Setton, near Bayou Perot 30 miles south of New Orleans, March 13, 2013. The Coast Guard is working with federal, state and local agencies in response to this incident to ensure the safety of responders and contain and clean up any oil that is leaking. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans)

UPDATE 5: Lightering operations completed, flaring operations continue

NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard and assisting agencies continue response operations for a tug and barge that collided with a pipeline near Bayou Perot 30 miles south of New Orleans Friday.

After the barge was removed from the scene and taken to a secure location, offloading operations were conducted and completed at approximately 3 p.m. Friday. The crude oil from the barge has been offloaded into a separate barge.  At no time was any pollution observed coming from the barge.

As the residual liquid petroleum gas in the pipeline dwindles, the flaring operations will continue.  Flaring operations use flares which are devices that burn or oxidize industrial gaseous wastes in a safe, controlled and efficient manner.

The Coast Guard continues to maintain flight restrictions over the airspace near the Shannon E. Settoon barge at and below 5,000 feet within approximately a one-mile radius. Responders have deployed 11,100 feet of boom around the tank barge to contain any possible pollution risks.

The unified command consists of the U.S. Coast Guard, Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, Settoon Towing and Chevron.  Other agencies and contractors include Louisiana State Police, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Natural Resources, ES&H, CTEH Air Monitoring, T&T Marine Salvage and Resolve Marine.


NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard continues to respond to a report of an allision between a tug pushing a barge resulting in a pipeline fire near Bayou Perot 30 miles south of New Orleans, Wednesday.

ES & H, the oil spill response organization, is on scene and has mobilized 7,218 feet of containment boom and 6,000 feet of 18-inch containment boom, one cabin boat, five responder class boats, one Marco skimmer and two 24-foot express hull vessels in response to the incident.

There are 2,215 barrels of crude on the barge and approximately 1,000 gallons of diesel on the tug.

A Coast Guard overflight is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday to conduct shoreline impacts and assessments.

There is a one mile by 75 foot-wide sheen reported in the vicinity of the tug and barge.

The owner of the pipeline is Chevron, and the owner of the barge is Setoon Towing LLC. The pipeline was shut in Tuesday evening, and the fire will diminish as the product diminishes.

All crew members were able to exit the tug; the captain reportedly suffered second to third-degree degree burns.

Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a report that the 47-foot tug Shanon E. Settoon was pushing a 154-foot oil barge when it allided with a pipeline 6 p.m., Tuesday.

The Coast Guard is working with federal, state and local agencies in response to this incident to ensure the safety of responders and contain and clean up any oil that is leaking.


The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident.

U.S. Coast Guard, NTSB Launch Investigation On The Carnival Triumph Engine Fire.

Coast Guard investigators from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Center and the Investigations Center of Expertise examine the cruise ship Carnival Triumph's engine room, Feb. 14, 2013, to determine the cause of a fire that broke out Feb. 10 and stranded the ship with its passengers for days in the Gulf of Mexico. The results of the joint international investigation may take months, but could possibly help prevent the same type of incident from happening in the future. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Jerry Federer)

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation Tuesday into the circumstances surrounding a fire aboard the Carnival Triumph, that occurred Sunday.

The Carnival Triumph experienced an engine room fire while on a four-day cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, and has been without propulsion in the Gulf of Mexico since.  The ship’s automatic fire extinguishing systems activated and the fire was extinguished. No injuries to guests or crew members were reported in connection to the fire.

The ship arrived in Mobile, Ala., Thursday evening.

Because the Carnival Triumph is a Bahamian flagged vessel, the Bahamas Maritime Authority is the primary investigative agency. In accordance with international guidelines, the U.S. will participate in this investigation as a Marine Safety Investigative State.

Coast Guard members from both the Investigations and Cruise Ship Centers of Expertise, along with a representative from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Center will lead the U.S. investigation joined by a team of five investigators from the NTSB Office of Marine Safety and the Office of Research and Engineering. The purpose of the investigation is to identify causal and contributing factors that led to the incident. Additionally both the crew response and effectiveness of fire fighting systems will be evaluated to help prevent future incidents.

The U.S. team is expected to arrive in Mobile Wednesday. Results of the investigation will be released to the public once the investigation by the Bahamas Maritime Authority is complete.