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AJC Photojournalist John Spink--Photos of the Year, 2013
![SECONDARY PHOTO - Apr. 22, 2013 Atlanta: Battalion chief, Monterio Stidwell (right) watches ladder operations as a crew of firefighters prepare to remove the sidings of the structure. Firefighters prepared for a long battle to douse a huge warehouse fire that broke out early Monday, Apr. 22, 2013 in northwest Atlanta. Fire crews responding to the 4 a.m. fire in two large recycling warehouses "could see it from a long ways away," Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Kevin Roberts told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We arrived to find large amounts of fire and limited access," Roberts said. He said crews were working to douse the flames from the outside, using three aerial units. "We're not going inside because it's a collapse hazard," Roberts said. One of the buildings burning in the 700 block of James P. Brawley Drive was about 175 feet by 50 feet, the other slightly smaller at 100 by 50 feet, according to Roberts. He said firefighters were fortunate that winds have been calm. "Of course, there's toxins with the amount of smoke we've got here," he said. "I'm sure there's toxins in there, I just don't know what they are. Luckily, most of [the smoke] is going up and away and we don't have any of our crews operating in the immediate part of it." Firefighters will have to "get heavy equipment in here and remove some of this stuff so we can get water to it," Roberts said. "We'll be in here until tomorrow, no doubt." JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM](https://images.ajc.com/resizer/v2/PZFX4XMR22TJG3ESY7QSCTCDXM.jpg?auth=b456cba32cf2c16c8de1b7b4fbdd808f4e2eecfdca36192c2e17383d49dd053d&width=3840&height=2323&smart=true)
![Apr. 22, 2013 Atlanta: Several ladder operations were simultaneously working to get water on the fire. Firefighters prepared for a long battle to douse a huge warehouse fire that broke out early Monday, Apr. 22, 2013 in northwest Atlanta. Fire crews responding to the 4 a.m. fire in two large recycling warehouses “could see it from a long ways away,” Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Kevin Roberts told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We arrived to find large amounts of fire and limited access,” Roberts said. He said crews were working to douse the flames from the outside, using three aerial units. “We’re not going inside because it’s a collapse hazard,” Roberts said. One of the buildings burning in the 700 block of James P. Brawley Drive was about 175 feet by 50 feet, the other slightly smaller at 100 by 50 feet, according to Roberts. He said firefighters were fortunate that winds have been calm. “Of course, there’s toxins with the amount of smoke we’ve got here,” he said. “I’m sure there’s toxins in there, I just don’t know what they are. Luckily, most of [the smoke] is going up and away and we don’t have any of our crews operating in the immediate part of it.” Firefighters will have to “get heavy equipment in here and remove some of this stuff so we can get water to it,” Roberts said. “We’ll be in here until tomorrow, no doubt.” JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM](https://images.ajc.com/resizer/v2/TF6GEVYQDCKIP5ERORURXVURPA.jpg?auth=fc881ddcac89f8ab61a4df0938296f3b6fb2513995b7170026e5152794c0d819&width=3840&height=2561&smart=true)
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LEDE PHOTO-February 5, 2013 Atlanta: Fulton County Fire captain Stan Hudgins looks for hotspots to guide aerial ladder operations. Fire officials on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 said homeless people trying to stay warm might have sparked a huge overnight blaze that gutted a vacant south Fulton County motel. The fire was reported shortly before 1:30 a.m. at the former InHome Suites extended stay motel on Interchange Drive off Fulton Industrial Boulevard, just across Martin Luther King Jr. Drive from Fulton County Airport-Brown Field. Fulton fire Deputy Chief Jack Butler told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the two-story, wood-frame motel had been vacant for about two years. The motel's two buildings had "no power and no gas," he said. Butler said that when firefighters arrived, the buildings were about 50 to 70 percent consumed by flames. "With that much involvement, it's just trying to keep it contained," Butler said. "It was all wood, so it had plenty of fuel." While the cause of the fire hadn't been determined, Butler speculated that it was "probably vagrants keeping warm, something like that." "This is an area where you do have some homeless people," Butler said. "It's cold, and people are going to find a way to try to stay warm." He said that even though the motel was boarded up, "if there's a way for people to get in, they will." Butler said firefighters had found no victims in the rubble. "We'll talk with some of the homeless people in the area to make sure there is nobody that's missing, but as far as we know, there was nobody in there," he said. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
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