Photo submitted by Michael G. Clark
Neighbor Michael Clark, of Michael G Clark Photography, sent us this photo from the fire that destroyed a house on Gaston in December. (One man was pulled from the house and taken to the hospital for minor smoke inhalation, but there were no other injuries, according to this report.)
Clark also sent this behind-the-lens story of the photo (*edited for clarity):
“I was on my way back from shooting at White Rock (where I shoot almost every evening – but that’s another story). I was heading home, driving down Gaston when I saw a huge column of thick, dark smoke. I knew it was a fire, and a big one.
“I decided to get to the location, and after some maneuvering, I parked on Swiss and walked toward hundreds of flashing lights. On fire was an old, stately East Dallas three-story that I had driven by many times. My heart sank. The house was an inferno, and I prayed for a moment that everyone got out unharmed.
“The street was full of emergency vehicles, and the house was surrounded by firemen attacking the fire from every angle. Occasionally a huge plume of fire would ascend 30 or 40 feet in the air with a loud “whoosh” sound. A volunteer firefighter, who was standing next to me, said a gas line had ruptured in the back of the house, which was why they couldn’t put the fire out. So, I guessed, the firefighters were just trying to contain the fire, waiting for it to burn itself out.
“The house was beginning to fall in on itself as I was leaving. It was the sound of tragedy. I thought about how another, once beautiful Old East Dallas house, is gone – never to be replaced.”
