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Photos: Into the fire with Atlanta’s firefighters and the AJC’s John Spink
John Spink has been covering metro Atlanta first responders for more than three decades. Here are a few of the thousands of photos he has captured.
![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/ZU4O2OFYE5YOP7A52YG2AXYL4M.jpg?auth=15224c380309b5a43812d64800cd9d107de12c42bc6343742729d17181789b14&width=3840&height=2322&smart=true)
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July 4, 2017 DeKalb County: Captain Kirk Yarbrough wipes the seat away from the morning heat. Authorities are looking for a person of interest after a suspicious fire Tuesday, July 4, 2017 damaged a DeKalb County school. Surveillance video at St. Martin's Episcopal School allowed police to capture a photo of someone who broke into the school before the fire, a fire spokesman said. Firefighters responded to the blaze about 6:30 a.m., DeKalb fire battalion chief DeJuan Gilchrist said. At this time, we think its suspicious based on the amount of fire that we had, Gilchrist said. And the windows (were) busted out. Summer school classes are in session, but students were out for the 4th of July holiday. There have been no reports of injuries. The fire damaged about 1,000 sq. ft. near the schools entrance and hurt a few animals, Gilchrist said. Firefighters first got the main fire under control then stopped work to avoid contaminating the scene. Gilchrist said if there were sprinklers in the building they didnt activate. Crews also cut a hole in the roof to make sure the blaze didnt extend to the attic, fire officials said. Elizabeth Beckwith, a science lab teacher at the school, said she got a call about the fire and raced over to make sure the schools about 13 reptiles and other animals were safe. Theyre my babies, she said. Most of them are alive, Beckwith said. Arson investigators will make a final determination on the blaze, Gilchrist said. No other details were released. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM.
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