LATENT IMAGE - Spring 2019

is sounding for you to leave but you know someone is
still trapped in there.
You know that if you can’t get to that person, then no
one else is coming!
Under that pressure, you make your decisions and take
highly calculated risks.
So, what do you do and how does it end?
So now, when you look at those images…what are you
seeing?
What is that firefighter trying to wash away – sweat, dirt
and grime….Or sights, sounds and memories?
What are they listening for - the sounds of impending
structural collapse or the faint cry of a child?
What are they waiting for with flames behind them -
water, equipment? Or are they listening for sounds of
life?
Who is behind that mask? Is the firefighter male or
female? Does it make a difference? Are you safe with
them? Are they safe?
Is the person being carried in the firefighters' arms
already dead? Is there a pulse? Are they breathing? Can
they be saved? What happens next?
Why is that firefighter kneeling alone? Where has he
crawled from? What is he about to say? What are they
getting ready for? What have they just seen or heard?
What will they find when they step through the door into
the burning building? Are they hurting, emotionally,
physically or both?
Those firefighters you are looking at, and in whose
footsteps you’re walking… Consider what’s behind the
fire kit and the breathing apparatus masks, the people,
those men and women are just like you, just like me!
Warmest Regards
Clive (pun intended)