Detroit and Russia make for great photography sites

Abandoned buildings make great photographic subjects. Some buildings make more important statements abandoned than when they were utilized for the reason of construction. Just do a search for “abandoned churches in Russia.”

Detroit has abandoned buildings in the thousands. All are hazards -- from falling down, as home for rats and dogs, as arson targets that threaten other buildings. The Detroit Fire Department battles fires in abandoned buildings every night.

‘City on fire: The Detroit Fire Department versus what's left of their city’

By Pete Fisher
Northumberland Today

DETROIT — Firefighting in Detroit is a whole different world.
In a city that once had a population of two million but is now at just under 800,000, the buildings, life itself, is decaying rapidly.

Street after street of storefronts, homes, churches, factories are simply abandoned.

The former Packard Automotive plant, which is reportedly the largest abandoned plant in the world, topping 3.5 million square feet, is eerily silent. The only people who visit the area now are tourists. There is a van offering guided tours around the gutted ruins. But not after dark.
It's also impossible to drive through the streets of Motor City for five minutes without seeing structures charred by fire. Arsonists are busy here.

So are firefighters.

One-third of the Detroit Fire Department halls have been shut down through budget cuts. Despite gunshots ringing out nearby and packs of roving wild dogs looking on, police rarely attend fires.
Mostly, firefighters simply do their best to make sure the flames from burning abandoned buildings don't damage surrounding structures. They knock down flaming walls, contain the heat, and douse their own equipment so it doesn't get damaged.

Fire just speeds up the course of the crumbling decay of Detroit.

"It's a city with no laws," admits Detroit veteran firefighter Ted Roney. "Nobody cares about anything."

Nobody but those trying to keep the remains safe for the remaining.

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/05/31/city-on-fire-the-detroit-fire-department-versus-whats-left-of-their-city

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