I was at the scene within 15 minutes of the call going out that there was a house fire with visible flames. By that time, the damage was already done. The fire started in the basement of the ranch style house in a woodstove and it spread fast. A firefighter told me that by the time they got there, he could see flames on the entire first floor "all the way from the back to the front door." They were hampered by both wind and a lack of a hydrant within a mile of the house. That's the problem with living outside city limits. Tankers had to be filled and water brought in, put into what they called temporary ponds (things that looked like a very large kid's swimming pool) and hoses hooked up there.
For a while, I was told, the there was so little water pressure the firefighters could only stand there and watch.
When I got to the fire, all I could see was smoke - heavy, thick, with a greasy look to it. The top of the chimney stood out, reminding me of photos I've seen of the Golden Gate Bridge in fog. Then the wind blew ... and there was nothing there except a charred brick front, melted vinyl siding and a surprisingly untouched deck.