2014 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | Senior rescued |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | February 19, 2014 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | The Telegram |
| Name of Program: | |
| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | St. John's |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: At about 4 o’clock on the afternoon of February 19, 2014 afternoon, we heard a call of a fire at an apartment building on Shaw Street and started to head that way. Most calls to apartment buildings turn out to be false alarms but I quickly realized after arriving on scene that this one was different. The firefighters with the St. John’s Regional fire department were setting up for the long haul and had called in reinforcements. I called our newsroom to let them know we would need extra staff to cover the developing story. A resident of Maplewood Apartments on Shaw Street is taken to a waiting ambulance suffering from smoke inhalation following a fire in the seniors complex in February. The fire broke out in the rear of the building, sending several people to hospital with smoke inhalation. More than 100 residents were evacuated from the building, which suffered extensive damage in the immediate area of the fire. — File photo by Keith Gosse/The Telegram I walked around to the side of the building and noticed the main fire pouring out through the window of one of the apartments. I informed the firefighters on scene and they quickly laid a line to the area to fight the fire from the outside. There were groups of seniors huddled at nearly every entrance and I noticed a sense of urgency as firefighters had entered the building to evacuate some who were unable to get out, or in at least in one case, refused to leave. To complicate matters, minutes after arriving, a heavy snowfall started, covering the walkways and parking lot in a slippery layer of snow. Myself and reporter Josh Pennell ended up helping a few of the residents by giving them directions or helping them across the parking lot to waiting vehicles.At one point I was also called into service by a co-worker whose mother lived in the building. My co-worker’s mother needed help crossing the slippery parking lot to get to a waiting vehicle. She took my arm and I walked her slowly to the car, the whole time scared to death that I would slip and fall myself and hurt her in the process. Thankfully, we made it safely across the lot. Throughout the time I was on the scene, I was shooting photos and video and captured several photos of firefighters evacuating residents and assisting seniors including the man pictured. The older man was clearly in distress and was taken to an ambulance suffering from smoke inhalation, as were a few other residents. The picture of the man clearly showed, I think, how this fire affected the lives of the people who lived in the building. In the end, several people were taken to hospital and more than 100 residents were evacuated from the building. There was extensive damage caused in the area of the fire. The fire could have been much worse had the fire broken out in the middle of the night when most of the residents were sleeping. Thankfully, everyone made it out relatively safe and sound. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: One photojournalist and two reporters were needed to cover this story |
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